The Silver Eyed Prodigy
by The Royal Protector
Summary: Being reincarnated is tiresome, especially into a world like Remnant. With the story being a good decade away there isn't really much to do... or at least that's what most people would think. I have the experience of an adult, the power of my soul, my mother's heritage and a peculiar Semblance due to my world skipping status at my back. Remnant will change, I'll make sure of it.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the first chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. I'll be honest and admit that this story exists because I'm still stuck on rewriting This War of Ours. I just got done rewriting the first two chapters and will update the story when I'm done rewriting everything and finish writing the fourth chapter. The problem with this plan is that it takes me a lot of time. This is where this story comes in._

_The idea for this story lingered in my head for a bit but I never dived too deep into the premise. This changed when I was rewriting about half the storyline of TWoO. At one point I tore my hair in frustration and decided I needed something fresh and new to write, que this story._

_I don't really have anything else to add other than that Volume 6 rocks and that the gods need their teeth kicked in._

_EDIT: I went back and fixed punctuation marks and other grammar mistakes I've found._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. OCs are mine though._

* * *

**The Silver Eyed Prodigy**

**Chapter 1: Orbis Nova**

Is this reality?

That was my first thought as I realized that I've regained my consciousness. I blearily looked around and only saw endless darkness surrounding me no matter where I turned. Was this another dream? I've had so many in the past week…

I tried looking down at my body but the darkness shrouded all my features. I tried flexing my fingers and found that while they functioned, they required a tremendous amount of effort to move and caused a bit of pain as well.

Pain? I thought my mind blocked out all of it by now…

This observation led me to focus on all of my body parts and realized that I wasn't in pain elsewhere. It was strange but not unwelcome.

No matter, the question of my surroundings still remained. The fact that I felt pain meant that it wasn't another dream, or at least not a normal one. That begged the question of what had happened. I was fading in and out of reality for the last few days, experiencing odd, yet comforting dreams. Though that doesn't really count for much I suppose, literally anything is better than experiencing extreme radiation poisoning. Focusing on my last memory of lucidness I remember talking to the doctors. They informed me about the possibility of deep flushing the radioactive particles out of my system. They seemed confident that it would buy me a few months before the various types of cancer would show their ugly heads. They told me about a slim chance of recovery after years of therapy… but I've shot them down and simply asked to be left alone with my family for the last couple days of my life.

Oh…

I'm dead now…

It was a sobering thought, I was dead now, floating in an endless black void. I regarded the darkness differently now and hummed in approval. Wherever I've ended up now was leagues better than dying from choking on my own blood. Still, it was relatively warm and calming, death that is. I feel like I could lie down and sleep till the end of times.

Unfortunately, just as I was about to accept eternal rest a blinding light illuminated large swathes of darkness. I tried to shield my eyes with my hand but it felt completely unresponsive. Furthermore, I felt like the darkness was repulsing and pushing me toward the light, seemingly rejecting my prolonged presence. For the first few moments I've tried to fight it and struggle but I quickly grew tired. I resigned myself and allowed to be pulled into the light.

I was momentarily blinded when I left the darkness, but my vision returned gradually. I felt pressure on my sides and heard multiple voices speaking to each other. It was at this moment I realized that I was being carried impossibly easily. My eyesight wasn't helping my sudden confusion, it only showed me colorful blobs and lights. It wasn't long before I got annoyed by the lack of focus and groaned in frustration, though the action somehow felt foreign, and sounded like… crying?

Then I felt a silvery white light wash over my vision and everything came back to perfect clarity. I saw monitors, people garbed in medical coats and facemasks. I was back in the hospital? Why? Why would they bring me back?

I got handed away to a tired looking woman lying in a hospital bed. She cradled and smiled at me. I chose to observe the woman's face and found it strangely familiar. Pale complexion, shoulder length deep red, borderline black hair, small nose and a mouth that always seemed to curve upwards…

And striking silver eyes.

This whole situation seemed woefully familiar…

"What will be the boy's name?" A doctor asked form behind me. The woman seemed to think for a moment before beaming a megawatt smile.

"…Caryll, Caryll Rose," she announced happily.

Oh… Ohh…

* * *

I've come to relatively quickly accept my new position in the world of Remnant. Oh, and how did I know for a certain that I was there? Well, even if my new birth mother wasn't Summer Rose, I would only have to look up at the night sky and see a shattered moon hanging over my head.

I didn't really have a mental breakdown as most people would expect to have when being reincarnated into a seemingly fictional world. I attribute it to my mindset, I was a twenty year old university student studying mechanical/computer engineering when I died, I also took some classes in philosophy because I've had some interest in the subject. That's where I've come across a world view that somehow deeply resonated with me.

The fundamental question of this school of thought was the nature of reality. We debated this fiercely and ultimately me and a few others in that class came to the conclusion that reality was dependent on the individual. The in a nutshell version of a long explanation is that we perceive the world through our senses and construct our reality upon our experiences.

So, when I was faced with the fact that I saw the broken moon, heard the cooing of my new mother, felt the air on my skin and smelt the strawberry shampoo in her hair pretty much convinced me that I was in a new world, without any annoying mental breakdown.

Fortunately, I wasn't lucid all the time in my first two years, the brain of a toddler struggled to house the consciousness of an adult, so I basically slept for 18-20 hours a day for the most part, and not even all of my waking hours were with clarity of mind. Thank the Gods, I don't believe I would've come out unscarred by experiencing the humiliation of being a baby again.

Still, almost two years of inactivity left me with a lot of time to think. What was I going to do now? I was on Remnant, my new reality. I knew what would happen in the far future, I could plan and scheme about shaping the world…

But did I really want to?

Why was I here? I wasn't here to complete some divine mission, if that were the case, I would have met the Brother Gods since they were the only ones who could bring back people from the afterlife. But if it wasn't them, then who or what brought me back? People didn't just reincarnate, or at least not with their memories intact. Why was my case different? I believed death gave life meaning, but if death itself and its meaning was taken from me, then what was even the point of living for a second time?

I spent weeks, months, years dwelling on these dilemmas, until I eventually arrived at a gloomy conclusion. I wasn't special in any way. My rebirth wasn't the work of a higher power, but more likely just a fluke of some cosmic machination. My life was robbed of its purpose by my reincarnation.

All that meant that I had to search for a new purpose on my own.

* * *

Raven didn't have many expectations when Summer asked her to babysit her brat for a couple of days while she was away on a mission for Ozpin. She didn't really interact with him before due to herself being sent on scouting missions with her idiotic brother for months on end.

Still, she was annoyed by her team leader's out of the blue request. She hated little kids and she hated looking after them even more, especially when she only recently got back from a tiring mission.

With all this in mind, one could imagine her admittedly stoic surprise when Summer left her with this… odd kid. They stood in front of each other with calculative expressions. Raven examined the small three year old's features and thought he looked like a gender-swapped mini-Summer. His features were surprisingly sharp for a toddler, with a good portion of his baby fat gone. She knew Summer wouldn't malnourish her kid so the only possible explanation was that the kid has been exercising for a while now, interesting. He wore simple black shorts and a silver T-shirt befitting for the current warm weather.

He had his mother's complexion and hair. His shoulder length deep, almost like oxygen-less blood, red hair was tied into a low pony-tail while two longer bangs framed his face on the sides. However, his most defining features were the pair of silver eyes that held intelligence and perception amiss for one his age.

They stared at each other for what felt like minutes with her trying to figure out the mysterious maturity in his eyes until he broke the silence.

"I don't like you," he stated simply while his little face scrunched up into a frown. Raven blinked at the open admission before letting her face morph into a sneer.

"And why should I care?" She shot back a bit harshly, momentarily forgetting that she was talking to a little kid and not another adult. She got ready for the waterworks to come and listening to another one of Summer's lectures about basic politeness and courtesy, but to her continued surprise the brat just shrugged.

"I didn't expect you to. Anyways are you hungry? It's lunchtime anyways so I could throw together something quickly if you want," the kid offered her seriously.

Now, Raven never spent much time around children because of their annoying nature, but even she could tell that something was definitely wrong with Summer's brat. Little kids don't just knowingly and causally insult adults and they definitely don't speak like that. Still, she decided to humor the kid, if only to see what he would do. She voiced a yes and the kid nodded and left to the kitchen.

* * *

"What is this?" Raven stared intensely at the dish before her. It took the little kid half an hour to make and serve a full lunch.

"Spaghetti," the kid replied evenly while leisurely eating from his own bowl.

"I know that," she replied tersely. "What I mean is how did you make this?" Toddlers couldn't cook either last time she checked.

"I admit it's not my best work. Mom keeps the better spices on the upper shelves." Was that sarcasm? She let out a frustrated sigh and felt her eyes twitch. The kid just smiled at her, letting her know that he knew exactly what she meant.

"Mom has a few books on cooking lying about. I just followed the instructions," he explained evenly.

"You can read?" Raven asked incredulously.

"And write," he grinned proudly.

"You're the weirdest kid I've ever met," Raven sighed exasperatedly.

"I wonder about that." He tilted his head with now painfully obvious fake innocence and Raven wondered what she had gotten herself into.

* * *

"Auntie Raven," the annoyingly smart brat spoke while he lied on the grass and gazed at the clouds.

"I've told you not to call me that." She released a tired sigh from the shade of a nearby tree.

"Why did you become a Huntress?" He blatantly ignored her yet again and asked anyways. The question registered in her mind a moment later and she sneered.

"That's none of your business," she snapped harshly but the kid didn't seem to mind as he continued.

"I've asked mom and she told me she became one so she could help the weak and the innocent," he told her distractedly and she looked away with contempt visible on her face.

"She's a naïve fool," she said reflexively.

"She's optimistic," he countered, still not looking at her.

"She's still a fool."

"Yes, but she's our fool." The kid sat up and looked at her expectantly. Raven tsk-ed in begrudging agreement. Despite their many differences, she still considered Summer the closest thing she had to a true friend.

"…The strong survive and the weak die. I wanted to be strong so I became strong, it is as simple as that," she told him resolutely after a few moments of silence. The kid hummed and looked back up to gaze at the clouds.

"I'm going to become a Hunter," he told her after a couple of minutes. Her face took on a disbelieving frown and stared at him. She had seen many kids dreaming about becoming Hunters, heroes like in the stories. The young fools didn't have the chance to realize the harsh and cruel nature of their world. Only experience would show them that, but by the time they would gain it, it would be too late and they would perish, just like their dreams. She was prepared to shoot down the boy's foolish fantasies but she noticed the steely expression so foreign to his childish face. It made her oddly wary and wanting to place a hand on her sword.

"…I realize that our world is mostly a cold and unforgiving one. Grimm control most of Remnant while Hunters and Huntresses defend the few safe places, knowing full well that the threat wouldn't end in their lifetimes, maybe ever." Raven's eyes widened as she listened to Caryll's voice.

"You are right, in this world only the fit survive and I want to be strong," he looked at her with steely eyes that were hauntingly reminiscent of his mother's.

"I'm glad-" "But that isn't the only reason I want to become a Hunter," he cut her off before she could get a word in. She was beginning to think that the kid held no respect for her.

"Despite the… rocky relationship between me and Mom, I still consider her family." Wait, their relationship wasn't great? "I myself do not fear death… but I would like to protect my family." He nodded to himself and looked her in the eye, "You're strong, wouldn't you also fight to protect what's yours?"

Raven held his gaze before slowly nodding in acknowledgement. Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Caryll lied back down and lazily pointed out what he considered to be interesting cloud formations. Raven continued to stare at him while thinking hardly, eventually she allowed her gaze to wander and she let out a sigh.

Maybe the kid wasn't so bad after all.

"Auntie Raven look! That one looks like a sheep!"

She takes it back; he is just as aggravating as his mother.

* * *

I never knew who my new father was, Summer kept quiet about it and I didn't pry either, it didn't really matter to me to be honest. Not a lot of things did nowadays.

I was considered an odd, yet prodigious child by others, especially by Summer. I could reliably walk and run around when I was one, weave sentences together like an adult by two and write with a bit of difficulty by three, I blame my chubby child fingers for not publishing essays.

Summer and the others kept gushing about how smart I was, but even an idiot could see the strained expressions Summer would send me sometimes. As Raven could attest to it; I wasn't a very childlike child. I couldn't bring myself to act like a toddler, my pride and self-esteem simply wouldn't allow it, so I was seen as a weird mix between a curious child and a stoic adult.

I only called Summer "Mom" when we were with others and I usually kept to myself even then. I couldn't help it; I was a twenty-three year old adult that was expected to call someone his senior by only four years "Mom", not to mention that I've already had a mother in my previous life. It just irked me the wrong way. That, coupled with me being a relatively self-sufficient person for a three year old most likely hurt her motherly pride. My unusual behavior and real life problems visibly strained her smiles as time went on until one day it all came crashing down.

I was around four when Yang was born, which granted me a timescale to work with, but more importantly it was not long after that when Raven decided to leave everything behind and abandon her family. The remaining members of Team STRQ were shaken, depressed and in one case furious. Of course, I wasn't told about her more than likely permanent departure but it didn't take a genius to figure it out on my own. I could still spot red eyed ravens flying about from time to time, letting me know Raven was observing my extra-curricular activities. I was fine with it to be honest; she and I had an understanding of each other and the few times we did meet in person I could tell she was getting less and less exasperated with our verbal spats and start to actually enjoy them, apparently enough for her to have a portal to me.

Summer and I unsurprisingly lived on Patch, not quite the wooden cabin where the Xiao-Long family lived, but close enough to be still surrounded by the forest. I was coming home from one of my usual 'walks', I was allowed to wander in the forest because a lot a of Hunter families lived on Patch and kept the local Grimm population practically zero, well that and me being me and not getting lost like a real three year old would.

I walked into our house and was greeted with the weeping form of Summer, sitting on our living room couch. This froze me in my tracks and made me stare at the woman. Summer almost never cried-, let me rephrase that; Summer never cried in the last four years I've known her. To see her like this made me feel uncomfortable. She didn't seem to realize I was there and I've just stood there awkwardly for a few long moments before deciding to bite the bullet.

"Is everything okay?" My childish voice rang out. Summer whipped her head around and looked at me with a panicked expression, still sniffling.

"Oh! Caryll, mommy's-… I'm fine just-" she stumbled on her words while I observed her shivering form and decided to have a conversation that was long overdue by now.

"Mom," I cut her off and she looked at me with a surprised expression, it was a rare occasion when I called her that in private. "What's wrong?" I asked seriously and made my way to sit down beside her. She looked down onto her lap and clenched her fists while she tried to take control of herself, still she remained silent.

"I think I'm one half of your problems and while I can't help with the whole situation with Raven, I can definitely apologize for what I've done, or rather hadn't done," I sighed and rubbed circles on her back to calm her down. She finally looked back at me with a confused expression.

"Caryll, what do you mean? You didn't do anything wrong, I'm just-" "I'm not a four year old kid," I cut her off before she could go on a pointless tirade. If her confusion wasn't noticeable until now, then it was now free for all to see.

"I saw how you look at me at times, with guilt and confusion. It didn't take me long to realize that you blamed yourself for me acting like… myself. And don't even try to deny it," I warned her when I saw her ready to do so. She closed her mouth reluctantly and listened to what I had to say.

"My behavior isn't your fault. I'm just incapable of acting like a child that needs to be coddled when I'm simply too old for that," I told her honestly. Looking back, I must have been a terrible child to have. I rarely sought physical contact with her and often wandered away to do my own thing. I scowled to myself in a moment of clarity, I barely considered how she felt about things and even when I did, I disregarded the thought soon after.

"W-what do you mean? You're only four," Summer stuttered in confusion.

"Try twenty-four," I chuckled dryly and felt her back freeze.

"What?" She has somewhat collected herself by now and looked at me with disbelief.

"Reincarnation," I shrugged simply in response.

"That's impossible," she stated, her stutter now completely gone.

"Your boss does it all the time, Summer." I showed her my most deadpan expression. She needed a second to process what I've just said, but when she realized her mistake she at least had the decency to look sheepish for a second. She then stared at me for a few minutes, wiping away a few remaining stray tears.

"Prove it," she said seriously, a familiar steel entering her gaze and voice.

"Hmm, well I know where babies come from-" "Something that couldn't be explained by being a child genius," she cut me off with a twitching eyebrow.

"Well, I could go on about the internal machinations of integrated circuits and network engineering but I have a feeling that conversation would go over your head," I hummed in thought and ignored her indignant protest. "Well, I distinctly remember not seeing my new father at my rebirth." I looked at Summer who clammed up suddenly.

"You remember that?" She asked me hesitantly.

"Yes, and I remember your avoidance on the subject, but don't worry, I personally don't give a damn about the guy," I shrugged in response and locked eyes with her. Summer stared at me for what felt like hours before the corner of her eyes watered and she turned her head to stare at her lap. I could hear sobs coming again and I felt my heart clench with remorse at the scene.

So, I decided to something that I didn't do very often. I wrapped my arms around Summer and hugged her tightly, it seemed to break through the dam of emotions and she started bawling while I made comforting noises to calm her.

* * *

"So, you're a reincarnate," Summer stated more than asked. The previous crying session lasted for about an hour before she finally managed to calm down, though not before completely drenching my shirt.

"I'm afraid so," I gave her a weak smile.

"So, where does that leave us…?" She sked hesitantly while playing with the hem of her black skirt. At hearing this my expression turned apologetic and my voice gained a... regretful edge to it.

"I'm sorry Summer, but I simply can't view you as my mom. I've already had a childhood before and there is only enough space for one mom in my heart." She visibly deflated at my response. Not like I can't sympathize, imagine being a single mom while being a certified monster hunter, raising a four year old kid you loved with all your heart, only for said kid to admit not even being a kid and denouncing you as his mother. Seeing her broken expression, I quickly continued, "Don't get me wrong Summer, I love you with all my heart, don't ever doubt that, and I view you as a super-older-sister that makes the best cookies in the world," I beamed at her and saw her lips quirk upwards slightly.

"I did always want a little brother," she smiled weakly, albeit with a little bit of sadness still mixed in.

"Besides, you still have time to have regular children. I would certainly love to have a little sibling or two to dote on," I smirked at her blushing expression and listened to her stammering in protest. I chuckled and leaned into her side in satisfaction, it seemed that comment at least alleviated some of her sadness. She eventually calmed down and put an arm around my shoulders. It was probably her motherly instincts acting up.

"How are you feeling?" I snuggled into her side.

"I just got demoted from proud and stressed mother to confused older sibling, what do you think?" She answered rhetorically and we shared a wry chuckle while I muttered a "fair enough."

"…I'm sorry for not telling you sooner," I said after a bit of silence.

"It's… okay. I don't think my brain has caught up with everything that is happening, and I will probably have another mental breakdown later, but now I at least understand what's been going on behind my back for four entire years… I'm not happy about it, but at least I have some answers," she admitted with a wry smile. I hummed in response and basked in her warmth.

"So how did you… you know, die the first time?" Summer inquired awkwardly after a while. I shuffled in place and looked at her face.

"You know, it's rude to ask someone how they died," I remarked playfully and Summer rolled her eyes at me. I leant back into the couch and looked at the ceiling with a faraway look.

"Radiation poisoning," I told her evenly.

"I've never heard of it… What's that?" Summer frowned in confusion.

"Huh, you guys don't know about nuclear physics, I guess" I mumbled, noting how that made sense. "Anyways, it's a pretty horrible way to go. Maybe I'm a bit biased but I would say it's the worst possible way to die," I stated with a thinking expression.

"Are you sure? I mean I've seen-"

"-After a week of constant agony, I've asked to be cut off of life support just so my suffering would end. In the end I suffocated on my own blood while my organs turned into goo-"

"-Alright that takes the cake," Summer chuckled awkwardly and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Speaking of cake, want to make some cookies together and watch a movie?" I proposed suddenly, standing up on the couch and looking at Summer with an expectant gaze. My reasoning for this was simple really, we needed a way to dissipate the awkwardness between the two of us and I knew from experience that Summer was most relaxed while baking.

Her delicious pastries held no sway in my decision making.

None at all.

She looked at me with a surprised expression and our mirrored eyes locked with each other. Credit where it's due Summer didn't take long to realize my intentions and narrowed her eyes at me. We remained there unwavering for a bit before her eyes slowly softened.

"We have a lot to discuss," she stated seriously.

"True-"

"And it can wait until tomorrow." She released a mock sigh and got up from the couch. I smiled the brightest smile my childish face could handle and followed her example.

"Thanks for being so understanding, you're the best," I thanked her and enveloped her in a hug.

"No need to thank me… This is what family's for after all," she stated softly with a kind smile and reciprocated the hug. We let go of each other and made for the kitchen with small, content smiles on our faces.

* * *

_Poor Auntie Raven got an annoyingly smug nephew while Summer got a kid that makes her want to tear her hair out. At least one of them got an explanation and an apology. Next time our Silver Eyed prodigy will probably meet her new little sister and have a talk with the remaining two members of Team STRQ. I don't how I'm going to format the next chapter, but maybe I'll put in the reason why this story will take a different turn as opposed to other SI/OC reincarnation fics, if not then it will be in the third chapter._

_Until next time._


	2. Chapter 2

_"Wow, that was a big explosion."_

_"Yeah, almost as big as the follow/favorite count of The Silver Eyed Prodigy."_

_"Quite."_

_"…"_

_"…"_

_"Want to do it again?"_

_"Sure."_

_-Conversation between two scientists after the first successful test of the Manhattan Project, probably._

_Hello there, I'm the Royal Protector and you're reading the second chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy and I got to say… holy hell I didn't expect the overwhelmingly large and positive reception this would get. I have no doubt this story would have gotten to a 100 followers in a couple of days even if I left it alone… so thanks I guess, I wrote the chapter for fun but it was a welcome surprise to see so many people enjoy it._

_Responses to reviews will be found at the bottom._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. OCs are mine though._

* * *

**Chapter 2: Potentia**

Was this it?

I felt the inklings of something… intangible inside my chest, circulating calmly through previously unfelt regions of my body. My face scrunched up in anticipation at the new development and I decided to examine this new energy. With imaginary hands I reached to tap the surface of the disturbance and immediately regretted it. My gagging reflex activated and it took me every ounce of my willpower not to empty my stomach's contents onto the forest floor.

Note to self, do not confuse Aura with my lunch.

I collected myself shortly and laid back onto the grass, gaze returning to the cloudy skies up above. It took almost no time for me to return to my meditative state and attempt the process again. With more careful hands I reached inside and felt that energy again. It was… calm, I observed, ominously so. I tentatively reached for it and felt my mental grasp slip through it, as if it was only an intangible inner fantasy of mine. I moved my hand around the strange energy, but never seemed to get a solid grasp on it. I didn't know what to compare it with… it behaved differently than water, yet held more presence than air.

I hummed in thought and chose to do something that I've come accustomed to in the past few years.

Wait.

I lied there for what seemed like hours while nothing disturbed my trance-like state and it was then that I've realized something. I couldn't feel my imaginary hand anymore, if that made any sense whatsoever. I knew it was there because my concentration hadn't slipped in any way. Anticipation rose within me and I gave a mental command to grasp the elusive shroud.

A second later I started pulling back and felt my whole being freeze. I gasped soundlessly and let go of the energy once the hand breached the surface. I felt my Aura become unsettled, as if it suddenly realized it was in a vacuum. It spread out rapidly and filled every pore on my being with unnerving determination.

I opened my eyes and saw silvery white waves dancing across my skin. Contrary of what one would believe, it was not a comforting experience. Now that it had reached the surface I could now fully grasp the… being of my Aura.

The previous feeling of calm coldness became something else. While the calmness remained, the cold feeling gave away to something more… unsettling. It caused an existential fear to rise in me and regard my hands warily. This feeling coupled with the lingering intangibility of my Aura made me realize what I was feeling.

The slow and unavoidable feeling of decay and a feeling of yearning, like if my Aura wanted to reject reality and reside somewhere else.

Interestingly the first feeling disappeared as fast as it came, while the second one slowly spread through my body before diluting to the point where I could barely feel its presence. I shivered in discomfort from the whole experience before breaking out in a smile.

I did it! I've unlocked my Aura!

Now if someone were to think 'what an annoyingly lucky guy he is, he managed to unlock his Aura in only a few hours!' then I would calmly walk up to them and slap them across the cheek with the back of my hand.

Few hours… more like few years!

I knew from the story that there were two ways to gain Aura; have it the easy way and get it unlocked by someone else or have it the hard way and unlock it yourself. The first option was unavailable to me because of policies in place and the nature of Aura.

The thing with Aura is that it is heavily regulated on Remnant, both by law and by culture. 'But why?' One might ask. Well it's simple really; the story got it down that Grimm are attracted to negativity, but never went into reason why for it.

I didn't even need to look it up on the local version of the internet to find an answer. Grimm are attracted to negativity because they find each other with it. Grimm are always filled with negative emotions, so it's easy for them to find each other and form packs. Of course, they sometimes find humans instead of Grimm, this is where Aura comes in.

While Grimm are attracted by negativity and darkness, they are enraged by positivity and light. Aura by definition is the light of the soul and well, if you awaken it, it's like a shining beacon in the night. So, one can imagine how berserker-like most Grimm become when they see someone with unlocked Aura. It is common consensus on Remnant that it's better to have more, docile Grimm near their borders rather than fewer, bloodlusted ones.

This is why it is against the law for those who do not wish to become Hunters or serve in the armed forces to have their Auras unlocked, and even for Hunter-in-trainings it is necessary to be enrolled into one of the pre-academies once they turn thirteen before they can have it unlocked.

Of course, there are loopholes; for example, it is not against the law to awaken your own Aura.

The only problem with that approach is that it requires months or years of effort to awaken it on your own.

Well, being a newborn and a toddler I had nothing else but time, so I did just that. I started when I was around one, now I'm four. That's three years of training just to have something other people could have granted me in a few seconds and some completely unnecessary and fancy words.

That thought made me frown in frustration, which I readily admit wasn't that intimidating due to my childish appearance.

But still, my frown turned into a smile, the latent power of my soul was now mine to command. It was only the first step towards unlocking my full potential as a Hunter, but I believe it is the biggest one.

I heard loud cawing and looked to the side to see a red eyed raven sitting on a nearby branch.

Huh, Raven probably witnessed all of that. I lifted an Aura covered arm and gave a cheeky grin to the bird. It stared at my arm while remaining unnaturally still. It remained like that for a few seconds before shaking its small head. Then it let out a caw that somehow still managed to remind me of Raven's exasperated sighs whenever she had to deal with my antics, after that it took off and silently flew away.

I chuckled in amusement and stood up; poor Raven probably never saw a four year old unlocking his own Aura. The sun was still high in the sky, it was probably lunchtime, I mused. I shrugged and began walking back home, I was getting hungry anyways.

* * *

I opened the front door of our house and immediately I was bombarded with the sounds of loud wailing coming from further in. I winced in despair and sighed resignedly. Yang was here again. I personally held nothing against the small eight months old child but damn could she shriek when she desired so. I shook my head and made my way inside where I came upon a disheveled looking Summer trying to calm down a crying baby Yang.

"Having trouble?" I asked dryly as I stepped beside her. Summer whipped her head around to look at me with desperate eyes.

"Caryll! Thank the gods, can you help me with her? I've been trying to calm her down for the past fifteen minutes but nothing seems to work!" She asked frantically as she picked up and cradled Yang to her chest while making cooing noises.

"Sure." I had a niece that was around three when I died so I knew some of the horrors of taking care of a baby, but that wasn't the knowledge I was going to use for this occasion. I motioned for Summer to hand over Yang and she did so eagerly. I held Yang at an arm's length and observed her wailing form.

"She's hungry," I declared confidently and picked up a nursing bottle. I then held Yang close and rocked her gently while feeding her. Sure enough, she immediately put it in her mouth and drank happily.

"I've just fed her an hour ago!" Summer threw her arms in the air and collapsed onto the couch. "How did you know she was hungry?" She asked while massaging her temples.

"I remember a few things from when I was a baby. Thankfully not the embarrassing parts like feeding and stuff but I can definitely recall what kind of noises I made when I wanted something," I shrugged and smiled at Yang's tiny form. She was adorable with the bottle in her mouth.

"Was I this bad when I wasn't all that lucid?" I asked curiously, Summer shook her head wistfully.

"Fortunately, you were a lot quieter, though I don't know if it's because of your special status or something else," she explained. "It really makes me wonder how I would have fared with a regular baby," she muttered dejectedly.

"Don't say that now," I frowned at her. "You are a great mother and any child would be happy to have you looking after them," I told her honestly. I thought for a moment before smirking to myself.

"And if it makes you feel any better you are doing a wonderful job with Yang," I told her with a sly look. Indeed, Yang had been a semi-permanent addition to our house lately because of Tai's day job and Summer's golden heart. Whenever I bring it up she denies it fervently, but even the blind could see that Summer thought of Yang as a daughter and indeed she did just that now as well.

"Ah, I'm just taking care of her, you know that! Besides, for me to be her mother I would have to-…" She denied embarrassedly and looked away from me. I rolled my eyes at her obvious reaction, as much as I loved Summer she wore her emotions on her sleeve. I didn't even need to wonder how in the story she and Tai got together, she had a huge crush on him that just got more prevalent after Raven left. What was the kicker that Tai felt the same way, it was a bit odd if you asked me but it wasn't really my business… wait it was, I was Summer's kid and that would make him my stepdad! Not that I would care about that if I were to be honest. Tai was a good guy and would treat Summer nicely, of course I would have to make a few things clear with him in the future just for… assurance, but otherwise I would be fine with their relationship.

More importantly, it would make Summer happy, and that was reason enough for me.

Knowing the future in this case just made me inpatient. I feel like a relationship counselor whenever I meet these two, trying my best to bring them together.

"Oh, come on, I already think of Yang as a cute little sister with how much I'm taking care of her nowadays, it wouldn't be much of a stretch for her to think of us like family," I suggested coyly. She stuttered something incomprehensible before an alarm rang out and smoke bellowed from the kitchen.

"My cookies! Noooo!" Summer's eyes widened comically and rushed to save what was salvageable "Caryll watch over Yang for me for a bit!" She cried out over her shoulder. I snorted in amusement and rocked Yang back and forth gently. I then saw that the bottle was empty and removed it from her mouth. I turned to look for a piece of cloth so that I could barf Yang if it was needed when I heard something that made my blood freeze.

"-Ryl."

I refused to believe what my ears told me and stared incredulously at the baby in my arm.

"Ca-"

Is this really happening?

"Charr-"

Are you kidding me? Right now? She's only eight months old!

"Char-rhyll."

Was Yang some kind of prodigy too?

"Charhyll" She gurgled happily at me and I just stared at her in happiness. It felt amazing that Yang chose my name as her first word and yet…

I frowned in thought while Yang gurgled happily in my arms. I felt a light bulb light up over my head and smiled mischievously. I looked into baby Yang's eyes and gained her attention by sticking my tongue at her.

"Yang, say mom," I told her seriously.

"Charril," She repeated obliviously.

"Say mom."

"Chaariiil," She continued stubbornly.

I stared at her unrelenting while she looked at me with wide violet eyes.

"How are you doing Summer?!" I asked loudly.

"The good news is that I still have some unbaked cookies ready to go! Just give me a sec and I'll pop them right in!" She replied equally as loudly. I huffed in annoyance and locked eyes with Yang again.

"Name your price," I narrowed my eyes at her and looked closely for baby body signs. Yang blinked at me owlishly and tilted her little head to the side.

"Nothing? Fine. How about… not teasing you with stories about how cute you were when you were little in front of your friends?" She gurgled something I assumed was a negative, alright then.

"I'll help you find Raven when you go after her." A negative gurgle.

"Not good enough? When you first get drunk I won't tell your parents about it." This time there was a moment of delay before a response.

"Mhoo." I narrowed my eyes even further.

"You drive a hard bargain… Fine. Whenever you get locked up because of your club busting escapades I'll bail you out and help you hide it from your parents."

"Mooh."

"And I'll be your wingman whenever you want." My eyebrows twitched this time, but sure enough I saw Yang give a small nod. Cheeky kid probably didn't even know what I was talking about but went along with it anyways.

"Ah, I'm back." Summer reappeared and took over Yang from me with a relieved expression "Complete disaster averted for now… Anyways let's get you back to bed, you must be tired after crying so much…" She turned to walk away. She put Yang in such a position so that we could still see each other over Summer's shoulder and she watched me with a smile. I smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"Mhom."

Good girl.

Summer froze in her tracks and I could imagine her shocked expression.

"Mom."

You know, as sad as I feel to give up being someone's first word, or making annoying promises to my future little sister, or how tiresome it is to play relationship counselor with a future-patchwork family-

Summer squeaked loudly and melted on the spot as she cooed at Yang while looking for her scroll to inform Tai…

-It made Summer happy, and that was reason enough for me.

* * *

Later that evening I managed to slip away from my babysitting duties and lie down on the couch, changing channels on our holo-TV in boredom. As much as I loved little kids I was woefully underpaid to take care of them 24/7. I picked up a chocolate chip cookie from the table in front of me and munched contently as I finally found something interesting to watch.

I wouldn't mind if I got paid in Summer's wonder cookies actually.

"And we're all done for the day," Summer sighed in exhaustion and happiness. She then plopped down next to me and I shifted to lean against her side.

Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

"Tai finally took away your little plushy toy?" I asked teasingly and turned to see her pout at me.

"I reserve the right to-" she began to say but stopped and stared at me in surprise.

"Caryll… You have Aura?" She asked slowly with an unreadable expression.

"Yes, I just unlocked it earlier today actually," I shrugged in response. "How did you know I have it anyway?"

"I'm an Aura sensor. I can recognize people by their Aura alone if needed," she explained and narrowed her eyes at me.

"Caryll… Do you want to be a Hunter?" She asked me seriously. I felt the gravity of the situation and straightened myself to look at her.

"Yes," I answered with conviction.

"Why?" She asked further without pause. I sighed and laid back to look at the ceiling with a frown.

"I don't really have a choice," I muttered despondently. It seemed Summer didn't expect that answer as her gaze wavered a bit.

"What do you mean by that?" I swiveled my head to look at her with a blank look.

"Your genes are really dominant if you think about it. I will probably look a lot like you when I grow up, sans the gender of course," I added dryly. "Eyes included." At the mention of our eyes Summer widened her own and regarded me differently.

"You know about our heritage? How?" She inquired disbelievingly; it was an understandable reaction all things considered. Silver Eyed Warriors had been almost nothing but legends of the far past nowadays.

"Word about almost anything gets around the Reincarnates' Cantina faster than you would believe," I told her while trying not to burst out laughing.

"You reincarnates have a… club?" She eyed me disbelievingly.

"Oh yes, we have an annual meeting as well for those who can make it," I continued spinning the entertaining lie.

"Ozpin never told me about any club," Summer stated with narrowed eyes.

"He's not invited," I told her with a blank look. "But yeah, I think you can understand that I don't really have a choice in the matter if I want to survive." Summer flinched and tried to come up with a counter-point but realized that she couldn't deny it. Silver Eyed Warriors were hunted all their lives by Salem and her circle.

"Besides that I have a goal," I stated resolutely and at Summer's questioning look I elaborated, "I want to make Remnant safer for all, especially for little kids like Yang." Images of her and Ruby in a red cart staring down three Beowolves flashed through my mind and a flash of anger washed over me.

Huh, maybe I got a bit attached to the little firefly…

"Aww, I was beginning to worry that you didn't have another reason other than necessity," she told me in a patronizing tone and hugged me. I rolled my eyes but decided not to resist. "Still, why did you decide to start so soon? We could've gotten you into Signal when you got 13-"

"I don't plan on going to any combat schools, Summer," I cut her off before she could finish. We separated and she looked at me in confusion.

"Huh, but why? Didn't you just say that you wanted to be a Hunter?" I nodded in response.

"I do, but I would be doing nothing but wasting my time there." She looked lost at that so I decided to clarify, "Normally you would be right about sending a child to a combat school that late because they are still inexperienced, unsure of their future and hopelessly naïve," I admitted before frowning. "But you forget that I'm a 24 year old adult in a child's body. I have a lifetime of experience, confidence in myself and I'm sure as hell not naïve."

"If I waited 9 entire years to start training I would probably come out like the average Hunter when I'm 20, but if I train for those extra 9 years and advance on my own then I could be considered a veteran Hunter when I reach the same age, and that wouldn't even be my physical peak if you think about it," I reasoned to a conflicted looking Summer.

"You would have to give up your childhood for that… Would you really do that just for power?"

"My second childhood Summer, and yes, for what I'm planning I'll have to," I nodded confidently and saw her silently asking what I meant. I sighed and took another cookie from the table.

Salem's circle contained members that are powerful enough to take out almost the entirety of a kingdom's Huntsman force and bring it to its knees, at least according to the story, while her stronger Grimm could level a city in a few minutes.

I didn't need to be strong. I needed to be the best to compete with that.

"I don't plan on mediocrity, killing Beowolves and Ursa all my life wouldn't change a thing in the grand scheme of things," I declared and looked back at her. "I'm going to hunt Titans." Summer gasped at my admission and I honestly didn't blame her…

Titans were the land equivalents of Leviathans that roamed the continents. These ancient Grimm earned their legendary reputation by living longer than most kingdoms and by destroying them, sometimes overnight. A good example for these creatures would be the Grand Wyvern shown at the end of Volume three. Even the most experienced Hunter teams steered clear of them whenever possible and most of them had a 'flee on sight' order assigned to them. Fortunately, the majority of them were slumbering Gods' know where but if a sudden spike of ambient negativity were to occur, a spike like the ones caused by the Great War and Faunus Rights Revolution... or the Fall of Beacon if it were to occur like canon, they would awaken and Salem could unleash them onto the world.

To face them willingly was beyond suicidal.

But if I downed them… It would actually make a large scale impact on the world. I was fairly sure that these giants were around even when the Gods still resided on Remnant. Salem may be a powerful immortal but I seriously doubt she could recreate them, making it a permanent loss of power on her part if I were to kill them.

My future sisters and their friends could play with Ozpin and Salem in their little sandbox, in the meantime I would ensure the security of the world by cleaning house.

"Are you nuts?!" Unfortunately Summer voiced her disagreement rather loudly. I flinched away from the shouting woman as she continued, "You're seriously considering giving up your entire childhood and any chance at a normal life just to go after the strongest creatures on Remnant?!" She cried out and I could see her body begin to tremble. "Why? Why on Remnant would you give up all that to basically die again?" She looked at me with tears gathering in the corner of her mirrored eyes.

I remained silent for a few moments before letting out a contemplative sigh.

"I don't know if I'll reincarnate again if I die now, but the experience of being dead made me realize something…" I admitted quietly. "Death itself is not a bad thing, it's more like a well-earned rest after a tiring life. This revelation made me question what was important in life at all." Summer was sitting next to me silently yet I knew she was listening.

"It was not until I got to know you that I found my answer," I looked at her and smiled. "If death was the rest after a tiring life then I simply had to find the most tiresome thing in life and do it anyway," I smiled brightly. "For me it was you, Yang, Tai, Qrow and even Raven… You guys are my new family in my new reality and I would do anything to see you safe… well, as safe as our profession usually allows," I chuckled dryly. "Even if it means doing things that are definitely insane," I finished my impromptu monologue and waited silently for Summer to collect herself. We sat there quietly like that for a few minutes until Summer turned to regard me with a… complicated expression. I think I could make out sadness, a bit of anger, acceptance and something else…

"It looks like you inherited more from me than my eyes." Pride, it was pride. I snorted happily and munched on the delicious cookie in my hands.

"I really can't convince you to spend your childhood normally, can I?" She asked exasperatedly and I shook my head airily in response.

"Well, in that case I can't let you get yourself hurt recklessly," she muttered and I raised an eyebrow in question. "I'll help you with your training when I can," she mock sighed.

"Thanks, I think I have most things covered, but now that you mention it I could use some tutoring in some areas," I admitted with a thinking expression. Summer wasn't even surprised by my unexpected reactions anymore and just nodded.

"Let's see… I made myself a training plan already that mostly covers reflexes, muscle memory and speed training. I decided not to get into strength training just yet, wouldn't want to risk becoming a midget like you when I grow up," I laughed as I dodged the pillow Summer threw at my face while yelling about being perfectly the right height. "Other than that… I could maybe activate my eyes on my own but it wouldn't hurt to have someone supervise me from time to time… oh, and I could use a hand in my Aura training, that sensory thing would be a nice trick to learn… and I guess I wouldn't mind a sparring partner sometimes," I flinched when I saw the predatory expression on Summer's face. As much of a kind hearted woman she was, Summer didn't really hold back during fights. I should know, I witnessed more than a few of Team STRQ's sparring matches.

"It's settled then, we'll have a test match to see where you stand first thing tomorrow." She shouldn't smile like that, it makes her look scary…

"I don't even have a weapon," I tried to reason with her to avoid a more than likely one-sided beat-down.

"And that should concern me why?" She didn't even seem fazed when she said that.

"You're just being vengeful because of the midget comment aren't you?" I stated more than asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, besides you have Aura now… consider it dodge training if it makes you feel better," she put a finger to her mouth in a thinking manner.

"Okay, now you're just being petty." If this kept up I might have to use my secret weapon…

"Oh definitely, consider it payback for making me worry for the past four years," she smiled sinisterly and I hit my internal panic button.

"Uhh, I love you mom?" Puppy dog eyes activate! If an older Ruby could pull it off then I should have no trouble!

"I love you too sweetie, but you're not getting out of this." Nooo!

* * *

_Poor Caryll should train his puppy eyes before the silver ones._

_Ten chocolate chip cookies, curtesy of Summer and Caryll, if you figure out Caryll's Semblance just from his Aura._

_Yang should have become a business woman with Weiss or gone to become the next Doctor Strange with how well she can bargain._

_Ozpin is not invited to the annual meeting because he's a stick in the mud._

_Some motivation and goals for Caryll, for he will kill all 16 Colossi! Shadow of the Colossus jokes aside he will still interact with the main cast during his adventures, it's just that he would like to make Remnant safer for everyone, including his future family and that would be harder with gigantic apocalypse nightmares trotting around the place. And if Bloodborne taught me anything it's that people love fighting giant monsters._

_**Reviews:**_

_Foxsky Harem Emperor 2015 (damn you have a long name): Oh, she'll be alive don't you worry about it *sinister laugh*._

_Chyllus: When I created the character of Caryll I made him to be a straight-forward kind of guy that wouldn't like to lie to people because he finds it too tiresome to keep track of how many lies he has going on. So honestly the bigger issue would be believing he would wait 4 years without admitting the truth to Summer. He doesn't tell the truth to anybody of course but he would admit it without hesitation if asked directly. Of course that doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy messing with people who underestimate him because of his childish body. Other than that, I'm happy you liked it._

_merendinoemiliano: As my physics professor would say; the most powerful combinations in the universe are compound interest paired with immortality and self-insertion fics with anime harems._

_He is a good man, but I can promise that there will be no harems in this story. Honestly I'm not even sure if I want to have a pairing. I have little experience writing compelling romance, the last time I tried it was two and a half years ago and while it wasn't bad I'm horribly out of practice to write one. With that said if people want one I can put it in, but then I'll have to ask for help writing it._

_I know right? It's a common trope for SI/OCs to just… lie all the way through their lives and I couldn't help but ask why? You tell them the truth and they can accept it or they could dismiss you having childish fantasies. Either way the SI/OCs don't lose anything other than their breath._

_While I admit to having a rose based Semblance for Summer I made it different from Ruby's. I made this decision because we see in the Volume 1 trailer that Summer's projection above her grave leaves white rose petals. As for a weapon I honestly didn't think much about it back when I wrote this but since then I made up something for her to use._

_No Hummingbird baby because plot I'm afraid. Though the future can change, haven't decided yet honestly._

_Summer remaining alive? Hmm, define alive. Don't worry I'm just joking I haven't actually decided yet._

_Dracus6: I'm not sure if it's a request or something else but while I know Dishonored quite well I have never seen Akame ga kill so I'm afraid I'll have to pass this up._

_Zyriarch: Preach brother._

_andrestar: I'm happy you like it, and yes I made Caryll to be the no-nonsense kind of person in this regard. He studied philosophy so he knows what questions to ask and how to come to terms with the answers. He has his reasons why he does things and he tries his best to make the most out of his situation._

_Loser Stuck In Memory Lane: Personally I agree with you, Summer deserves to be called mom willingly by Caryll, but spoiler alert, Caryll does what he does because he has a slightly warped perception of family. It will make sense later on in the story but I can say that it will be an important character moment for Caryll. It's not a personal opinion of mine, just a flaw of Caryll's, I made him and Raven 'friends' for a reason._

_AnimeA55Kicker: Will do._

_Guest: I actually have a fully detailed weapon I plan to give to Caryll that I originally made for the main character of This War of Ours but then scrapped. However, I plan to have a few Hunter OCs appear later on so I wouldn't mind using your idea for one of them. PM me if you're interested and I'll give you a list of possible characters you can choose to have the weapon :)._

_Until next time folks._


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the third chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. I don't have much to say right now, though I'll leave a few thoughts at the end._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 3: Arma**

There was at least some upside to getting knocked around by Summer for the better part of the day. We've found out by… extensive testing that I had way more Aura than a person my age should have. So much more so that it left Summer and I scratching our heads.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that Summer found an explanation to my condition. Previous research on the subject of Aura growth among children was limited because of ethical concerns, but nevertheless a few documents on the subject still existed.

Apparently the amount of Aura a person can possess naturally increases with their age. The rate of increase is drastic in the early childhood before puberty, but settles down to a more manageable and smaller increase until the end of the person's lifetime.

This is where our theory comes in. Since I was a reincarnate, I already had a childhood before, so I technically experienced one such growth spurt already, even if Aura didn't exist back in my world, my soul did. And since Aura was the power of the soul, my theoretical reserves got transferred over to my next life.

So, right now my reserves of twenty years were undergoing another drastic increase, that was going to last another nine years… One can imagine that this left me with a generous amount of Aura at my disposal. How much exactly? Well, according to Summer's sensory ability, my reserves rivaled that of a Signal graduate's or a freshman's at Beacon. She speculated that by the time I turned ten, my reserves would surpass the average Hunter's and by thirteen, the end of my drastic growth, I could give Summer a run for her money in terms of sheer Aura pool.

And all this was just by natural growth. Aura was like a muscle in the regard that the more you use it, the stronger it gets. If one were to train children like I was doing to myself, they would get themselves literal killing machines before the kids turned fifteen.

But I am basically a self-appointed child soldier, which I'm pretty sure is illegal or something.

One would usually be ecstatic about having this much power at their fingertips, but it just made me all the more wary. I was adamant about becoming strong enough to leave a mark on the world, but I had the gut feeling that all my training and preparations were not simple bonuses along the way, but rather the basic necessities for my own survival.

This line of thought was what brought me to the present.

"The coupling mechanism should work like a charm, now I'll only need to copy it and apply it to the other side…" I muttered with a concentrated expression as I finished the last blueprint I needed for the weapon.

I was currently in our toolshed in our backyard that was built by the previous owners of our house. Summer wasn't really one for hand crafting and general gardening, so I took the liberty to convert the entire thing into my little workshop. It had everything I would need, a basic workbench, bookshelves for my books, some tools to craft basic things and I even managed to convince Summer to move our Dust storage here instead of the house, it was safer this way, I reasoned.

I straightened in my seat before the workbench and rolled around with my chair to collect other pieces of paper before laying them on the table to see the final product of my work.

While I had been studying a bit of mechanical engineering before my untimely demise, I had little practical experience in actually designing and building things myself. So, for the past year, with Summer's permission, I spent a bit of our money on university books on the subject. It wasn't really an issue financially, because Summer's missions paid really well, perks of working directly under an influential figure like Ozpin I suppose.

So, after getting a degree in the subject in all but name, I began working on my very own weapon. It took a few months of trial and error to build smaller parts from cheap and disposable materials to test them out, but the final plans were done now.

At first glance it may have looked a bit odd, some parts looked outdated or borderline archaic while others looked like they came out of an Atlesian R&D lab a few minutes ago. That was intentional on my part; the weapon was purely mechanical, no servos or hydraulics were present in the mecha-shift and likewise there wasn't any automatic feeding mechanism or magazine for the gun. The design was elegant in its simplicity and the general lack of moving parts meant that general maintenance could be done on the field with simple gun oil, a rug and a pocket knife if a screwdriver wasn't in reach.

It was the Kalashnikov of Remnant.

I stared at the myriad of papers in front of me in happiness. I reached for a pen and etched my signature in the corner of the blueprint showing the final version of the weapon. My proud smile however turned upside down when something occurred to me. I reached for a calculator and a blank piece of paper and started crunching numbers.

"Well, I mean if I robbed a few Dust shops I could maybe afford it…" I winced at the sight of the price tag of the quality materials needed for the more intricate parts. Summer could afford it almost no problem, but I wanted to earn my signature weapon on my own. It was a matter of personal pride for me.

"This is some place you've got for yourself, short-stack." I jumped in place and whipped around to see Qrow leaning against the doorframe of the entrance, looking around wonderingly.

"Uncle Qrow! What are you doing here?" I semi-greeted the scarecrow-like man happily.

"What? I can't visit my favorite nephew from time to time?" He asked in a mock hurt tone and ignored my comment about me being his only nephew. "I actually just got back from a mission and decided to check in on you and Sum before I go to report back," he explained and stepped inside, still looking around at the blueprints and bookshelves lining the walls.

"Well, Mom went to get Yang, so it's just you and me for a while," I shrugged and rolled with my chair to another table with colorful vials.

"I guess I'll have to wait a bit then, haven't seen the little firecracker in a while anyways," Qrow hummed in response and walked over to my workbench with the blueprints for my weapon.

"Interesting design, but you lack the muscles and a lot of height to even wield this thing," Qrow whistled in appreciation as I mixed together some bright red and murky blue Dust in a single vial before shaking it and putting it aside to settle.

"I know, I don't even expect to build before I turn ten," I shrugged and stood up.

"You know you could wield it a lot sooner if you just reduced the size of the caliber, right?" Qrow asked with a raised eyebrow as he pointed at the gun portion of the weapon.

"If a weapon ain't got kick, it just ain't worth it," I quoted evenly from a game I played years before and moved to stand beside Qrow.

"Are you sure you're not Tai's kid? I mean I appreciate a big gun like the next person, but some people just don't know when to stop," he said exasperatedly and I chuckled in response. Qrow was a cool uncle, not the most responsible or the best role mode, but he was understanding and usually laid back. At first he weirded out by my apparent maturity but quickly came to accept that I was just some 'prodigy' and encouraged my goals of becoming a Hunter. I didn't ask him to train me because as laid back as a guy he was, Qrow was still against putting a little kid through physical and mental exertion. Fortunately that didn't mean he wouldn't give me some lectures about the world outside Patch and tell stories of his missions.

"Uncle Tai is nice, but I don't think he's brave enough to confess to Mom," I stated as I collected all my papers and put them away into a drawer.

"You don't even know how right you are, short-stack," Qrow snorted and produced a flask from his shirt. He turned around and noticed the colored vials set up on the other table.

"Hey kiddo, where did you get those?" He asked carefully. I noticed his expression and smiled brightly.

"Mom uses a lot of Dust in her weapon, so I decided to borrow some," I chirped happily and Qrow looked positively mortified. In his mind I was a kid and you definitely didn't want to let kids near volatile materials like Dust.

It was like letting a couple of kids play hot-potato with a piece of uranium past critical mass.

"Didn't Sum tell you that it's dangerous to play with them? You could hurt yourself you know?" Qrow lectured somewhat sternly.

"She didn't, she just puts them in that safe with the electric lock so I can't get near it," I explained innocently.

"Then how did you get it?" Qrow's face scrunched up in confusion and I produced a piece of paper from my back pocket.

"I love Mom, but sometimes she isn't as smart as she thinks she is." If I could sweatdrop, then I would have done so right now. I handed the paper to Qrow and watched as he skimmed over crossed out words before reaching the end.

"Ro$eIsBe3st…" He whispered disbelievingly before palming his face. "Brothers damn it, Summer," he sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh, don't worry Uncle Qrow, I know what I'm doing!" I declared happily. Just after I said that, the previous vial that I mixed together exploded and covered the worktable with a burning white liquid that spewed sparking debris all over the area in some miniature reenactment of the apocalypse.

"Oh, not this again…" I groaned despondently and grabbed two light blue vials. I threw the vials at the blazing hellfire, thoroughly annoyed. The vials made contact and ice crystals covered the entire table, putting out the fire in its entirety.

"I hate it when it does that…" I muttered and looked back at a stock still Qrow, who just stared at the smoking remains of the table.

"Caryll, what was that…?" He asked eventually with a shocked expression.

"I like regular Dust because it's pretty when it explodes, but I eventually got bored of it," I admitted with a small sigh. "But then I realized that I can mix them together and make even colorful and awesome explosions!" I declared proudly. Indeed, regular Dust was fascinating in its variety but its effects were pretty underwhelming overall, unless it was of the highest quality. A good example for this would be when Weiss and Ruby got caught up in a Dust explosion, but only got singed clothes for their trouble.

It was flashy, but lacked finishing power, basically.

This problem led to me to find an alternative by mixing Dust together to create new variants. Dust mixing, or as it's more commonly known; Dust Alchemy, was a somewhat common practice as in nature Dust could only exist long term in five basic forms; Water, Fire, Wind, Earth and Lightning. All other forms of Dust were a combination of two or more of the aforementioned basics. Ice Dust for example was made of equal amounts of Water and Wind Dust or Gravity Dust was a mix between Earth and Lightning Dust. The only problem with this method was that the more complex the formula got, the more unstable the final product became. Currently, Hard Light Dust was the most complex form of Dust available that required more types of already mixed Dust variants than I had fingers and it was around as stable as the stock market in the late 1920s.

"It's one of my formulas. The base is Fire Dust mixed with Wind Dust to create Scorch Dust, then I mixed in Earth and Water Dust to add some properties of a sticky goo," I explained proudly. "I call it Inferno Dust," I smiled toothily.

When I first began mixing Dust, my initial goal was a napalm-like substance that burned hotter than regular Fire Dust and could be made into a liquid for easier use, what I've got in the end was an unholy mix between napalm and white phosphorous, thus the name. It was devastating enough that I have no doubt it would be banned back home by the Geneva Convention. If I decided to sell the patents I could probably set myself up for life, not that I was going to, I may have told Qrow what Dust I used, but I have no intention of ever publishing the exact ratios required.

I was a Hunter, not a monster.

"One of your formulas… You have more Dust like this?" Qrow looked at me with wide eyes. I nodded eagerly in response, Dust Alchemy was a fascinating and still developing art form.

"Yeah, not as cool as this one though, I mostly just try to come up with ways to use them in combat," I confessed with a sigh. Despite my success with Inferno Dust, I was by no means a qualified expert on the subject. A lot of formulas were already commonplace and trying to come up with new, viable ones was just tiresome. Qrow looked between my calm visage and the destroyed worktable a couple of times before letting out a heartfelt sigh.

"You remind me so much of your mother, it's not even funny," he muttered under his breath and I tilted my head to the side.

"How so?" I asked curiously.

"Both of you can do something so monumentally stupid it hurts and act like everything's fine," he complained. "But despite your goofy act I can see that you're serious about doing this," he sighed and reached for something under his red cape.

"I originally had a different thing planned out, but I guess this will work better for you." He took out a pair of black vambraces and tossed them to me. I caught them with both hands and looked at them closely.

"Happy birthday, short-stack." Oh, it was my fifth birthday today, wasn't it? It didn't even occur to me. I looked at the pieces of metal in my hands and found they were almost identical to Raven's own vambraces, the only difference was a small cavity filled with cut wires and shot electronics.

"What's this?" I looked back up at Qrow with questioning eyes.

"Something I picked up during my mission. The guy I was ordered to track down used this to give me a hard time. Of course he was no match for me in the end, but he didn't go down easily," he explained in his story-telling voice and I paid rapt attention. "After I defeated him I wanted to hand these over as evidence to the local police, but they declined and I got to keep them. I was actually going to throw them away before I saw your… experiments," he looked pointedly at the table. "I'm sure you'll find a use for them," he finished dryly. I hummed in thought for a second before coming up with a few ideas.

"Thanks Uncle Qrow!" I ran up and hugged him with a happy grin, I barely reached his waist, but I made sure to use enough force to make him stumble.

"No problem, kiddo." He ruffled my hair and took out his flask to take a swing. "Come on, your mother must be home by this point," he declared and we separated.

"You shouldn't drink in front of minors," I reprimanded with a frown.

"And you shouldn't mess with Dust, and yet here we are," he countered easily.

"Touché," I relented and we began walking towards the door. We almost exited the workshop when the remains of the Dust worktable groaned and collapsed into an icy pile that somehow disturbed a bookshelf on the far side of the room and made it plummet to the ground, effectively spilling all of my books on Grimm biology into the thawing ice.

Qrow and I looked at the damage for a few moments in silence before I gave Qrow a knowing look.

"What?" He asked indignantly.

"Somehow this is your fault," I declared and left through the exit.

* * *

Later that day, I decided to practice some hand to hand while thinking about what to do about my weapon situation. I couldn't effectively wield my chosen signature for at least another five years. Unfortunately, that meant I had no weapon to practice with for that long.

However, that didn't mean I couldn't practice unarmed combat. When I was younger I dabbled a bit in karate with a friend of mine for a while, nothing too serious though, I managed a purple belt before I quit to take up Krav Maga instead. It fit me much better and I trained in it for four years before my death, so I'd like to think I had a firm grasp on it.

I sent a pulse of Aura to my hand and shattered the bark of a log with a basic palm heel strike.

Aura was a game changer though. Basic strikes could become deadly to normal people with some infused Aura. I pulled back my hand and shook off the stiffness in it.

Logically speaking Krav Maga was more applicable to Remnant, because karate didn't exactly teach how to best defend yourself against firearms, while Krav Maga does. Still, the former preaches about fast and deadly strikes to disarm or kill the opponent as fast as possible, Aura prevented that entirely, making a good portion of techniques moot.

That left me with the choice between dropping two martial arts I've already learned to a good extent and learn something local, or fuse together two different kinds of martial arts into one fluid and deadly one.

How tiresome.

In the end the second option probably made more sense. If I devised my own style from two seemingly alien martial arts then I would be nigh unpredictable for other people, unless they had some kind of full-on precognition Semblance.

The sound of footsteps made me look aside and see Raven walking towards me from the tree line.

"Auntie Raven! Hi!" I waved enthusiastically to her from the middle of the clearing. She didn't visit that often anymore because… well I don't think anyone other than me and maybe Summer would be happy to see her nowadays.

"Brat," she greet blandly before stopping a few steps away. "I see you're still trying to come up with a fighting style that doesn't look like someone shot you in the leg." She looked towards the damaged log on the ground.

"It's a work in progress," I shrugged with a smile. "It's really hard to channel Aura when I want sometimes," I caressed my elbow with a wince.

"I'm honestly still surprised you can channel Aura at all," she remarked dryly.

"I know, I'm awesome like that," I grinned like the five year old I was supposed to be. "Not that I mind, but why are you here though? You usually only come around when something important happens," I stated a bit more seriously.

"…" Raven remained silent and looked a bit conflicted about something.

"Is everything okay-?" I asked after a few moments of continued silence, only to be cut off by a box that was shoved into my hands. I blinked in shock and looked at Raven, her eyes decidedly avoided my own and her posture seemed agitated, odd. With no explanation coming from her, I looked back at the plain brown box in my hands. It was quite heavy and big.

Is this a present? From Raven? Raven never got me anything before.

With wide eyes I removed the top and gazed inside.

"Throwing knives?" I asked out loud as I picked up a long and narrow knife from what must've been a few dozen.

"DUCKs, Dust-Utility Combat Knives," Raven corrected, speaking up at last. "They were standard issue during the Great War and the Faunus Rights Revolution. They were so commonplace that they are cheaper than dirt, but still unarguably effective," she explained while I rotated the knife to see the Dust crystal injection port. I looked over the weapon in silence for a while before turning my attention back to Raven.

"You bought these for me…?" I asked with wide silver eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous," Raven scoffed. "There was just a surplus in the tribe's armory and we had to get rid of some junk. The only reason I'm giving these to you is because they might help your miserable attempts at training-" Raven reasoned haughtily and crossed her arms to turn away with a smirk on her face. Unfortunately for her, this allowed me to strike.

I moved before she could stop me and immediately had to duck under a reflexive swing of her sword. Looks like all that training in this body was finally showing its worth.

"…!"

"Thank you, Auntie Raven!" I hugged her awkwardly around the legs since I could only reach up to her waist in height. I looked up at her face and beamed a megawatt smile I learned from Summer.

Raven herself looked like she was trying really hard no to stab me with her sword that frozen mid-swing. Her body was stock still, while her expression looked like it was trying to be sneering and be generally annoyed at the same time. It took a couple of seconds before she sheathed the blade and schooled her facial expression to an exasperated one.

"Okay, you can let go now," she sighed and patted my head after a few seconds.

"Mhm, but I don't want to," I pouted dare I say adorably.

"Don't push your luck, brat," Raven warned with a serious tone.

"But I want to see how far I can push it," I whined weakly.

"I swear to the Gods, if you don't let me go this instant, I'll blast you across the field." Her tone got icy now and I decided to quickly vacate the immediate area of her.

"Still, thank you, I love these already," I declared happily, thinking of how this basically solved my weapon dilemma for the next few years.

"Think nothing of it. Just tell me if you're running out of them, our armory is usually filled with things like these," Raven shrugged and dusted off the clothes on her I had touched. "But remember that these require a lot of training that takes years."

I looked at the knife in my hand thoughtfully and hummed. I looked to the spot on the log I punched and threw the knife in a straight line. The knife hit the log thankfully, but was nowhere near dead center.

I picked up another four knives from the box and positioned them between my fingers. Raven meanwhile watched me work with some interest. I threw all four knives at once and predictably most of them missed completely, though one managed to nick the bark.

Yeah, this might take some time, unless…

My eyes widened at the possibility and I produced the vambraces I got from Qrow. I looked between the knives and the armguards with a look of realization.

I can work with this.

"You and Qrow are the best aunt and uncle," I told Raven with an ecstatic expression.

* * *

_Poor Caryll has no idea what Remnant has in store for him, he'll need every advantage he can get._

_Weapon tease~ because why not._

_Hope you like my take on Dust and its applications._

_Mom of the year tries for unironic Aunt of the year… Leave it to Raven to gift lethal weaponry to a child and be seen as a good guy for it._

_The knives won't be his main weapons, they are stop-gap solutions until he grows older. Though they will retain their role as a major part of his arsenal._

_**Reviews:**_

_Raidentensho: Interesting guess, but alas no cookies for you I'm afraid. Don't worry Caryll will have his own unique weapon, though it won't appear for a while._

_Fireandice4664: Stop it, you're making me blush._

_Atheist God:… I don't know if I should mail you a cookie or not, because none of your guesses are completely right. So, I'll just hint that it's a specific ability from another show I'm thinking about._

_merendinoemiliano: Glad you enjoyed it. Put some Qrow in here for you._

_Ashuruga:… Are you accusing me of giving my OC flaws that makes readers question if he's a fully logical person?_

_Until next time._


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello there I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the fourth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. Few things this chapter, some combat, first OC, not sure if I'll bring her back later or not but even if I do it won't be for a while._

_merendinoemilano: Hmm, honestly it didn't even occur to me that he would think that, oh well, my bad I guess. Thank you for your continued support._

_AnimeA55Kicker: I acknowledge the awesomeness of your idea and raise mine.  
*Points at your car*  
That's a classic.  
*Shows you mine*  
But this, I like this better._

_Raidentensho: Maybe, didn't really have the time to get into RvB past the first season sadly so I can't say for sure. Though this chapter might give you a better idea in that regard._

_jemjd25: Thanks man._

_Guest: His birth to Summer is due to plot, so I can't really go into detail with it just yet._

_Guest: c:_

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. OCs are mine though.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Prodigium**

If she was asked why she kept visiting her annoying self-proclaimed nephew, Raven would wonder about the answer herself. She cut off all contact with the entirety of her team, her twin brother, her closest friend, her husband and even her own daughter, but not him.

Maybe it was because he understood and accepted her, that wasn't something anyone else had done to her in years. Not even her own brother would try to understand her philosophy, he just went along with it in the tribe and dropped it the moment they set foot in Beacon. He had always been a weak willed follower, she thought to herself.

Perhaps it was because he reminded her of herself when she was younger, she reasoned. Though, their situations couldn't be farther apart. She and her brother were born into a bandit tribe, their mother died during childbirth while their father, the then-chief, neglected them and left them to their own devices. He was born to perhaps the kindest woman on Remnant and is surrounded by a loving family, even though his father died months before his birth.

She was raised being told that she had to carry her weight or she would be left behind in the middle of the Grimmlands. He is being raised in one of the safest areas inside the kingdoms with no real need to provide for himself. She was taught the natural order of the world by the tribe as long as she could remember, but it never really came across until she experienced it herself when she first took someone's life. She saw this knowledge in his mirrored eyes the moment they met, though she couldn't quite recognize it then.

She was forced to grow up fast and leave behind her childhood the moment she could hold a knife, he chose to.

Maybe it was this mystery, why choose to grow up so fast? She could respect his efforts and reasons to become strong, internally she would even begrudgingly admit that if he met her 6, hell, even her 12 year old counterpart he would wipe the floor with her, though she would never say this out loud with him in hearing distance, Gods know she would never hear the end of his bragging.

Still, maybe it was the answer that made her come back time and time again. He could have waited a few years and start serious training. She did so as well and she is already considered and elite Huntress at only 30 years of age.

A small, quiet portion of her mind wanted to know why he threw away the innocence she was robbed of so soon, though these thoughts were soon forgotten.

It was with these thoughts in the back of her mind that Raven swung her sword to activate her Semblance. The oval, red portal sprung to life and she leisurely walked through it. Her last visit was a few months ago, maybe it was time to check up on his training, she hummed.

She arrived on the other side and was hit with a slightly salt scented breeze. She blinked in surprise at that, her portal closed behind her and she chose to look around in her new environment.

She was on Patch, if the forest was anything to go by, but the wind was noticeably stronger and if she listened closely enough she could hear the telltale sound of water hitting rocks.

What was he doing near the coast?

She reached out with her Aura and searched for his own. It took a second but she found it in the direction where the waves smashed against the cliffside. She made her way there and had to shield her eyes from the morning sun right after she cleared the forest. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the brightness, but when they did she caught sight of the kid lying on his back just by the edge of the cliff. She moved closer and closer until her Aura screamed at her to move.

She bought up an arm and caught all four knives thrown at her in a simple sweeping motion. She looked at the four DUCKs in her hand and raised an eyebrow. She could perceive his arm moving almost no problem, though that was more because of her own training than anything else, but what got her attention was the apparent comfort at what position he was in while throwing the knives. They were accurate as well, she observed, one for the liver, one for the right lung, one for her heart and a last one for her exposed throat, all of the major kill-spots.

"You're still too slow to even scratch me, though I don't know what I expected from a little brat" She remarked amusedly.

"And you're getting predictable, though I guess you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks" Caryll responded, not moving from his spot.

Raven narrowed her eyes at him as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Raven widened her eyes in surprise and felt his imbued Aura activate in the knives. She quickly threw them away and watched as ethereal violet shrouds sucked in everything in a couple of meters radius around the knives. Grass, rocks and patches of picked up dirt concentrated around the centers before the knives were engulfed in spheres of burning white liquid, that spewed out sizzling debris all around themselves.

The process only lasted a couple of seconds but Raven was sure that it was devastating enough that her Aura would have been severely depleted if all four knives had detonated in her hand. Judging by the smug expression of the brat she knew for a fact that he knew it too.

"I see you've incorporated Dust into your fighting style" She sighed, feeling a headache coming from just interacting with the boy. He finally chose to sit up and face her with an excited expression on his young face.

"Yeah, thanks to your and Uncle Qrow's presents I could finally practice with it! Watch this!" He declared and lifted a hand. The damaged vambrace he got from her brother now looked brand new and sported a matching pair. The cavities where she earlier saw shot electronics were filled with several smaller purple crystals that glowed eerily once he pointed his arm in the direction where she had thrown his knives.

She watched wide eyed as all four of the knives' hilts lit up similarly to his armguard and flew into his open hand at high speeds.

"Ah, Hot! Hot!" He juggled the still heated blades a few times before settling down "Tada!" He declared proudly after a few moments.

"What even was that?" She remarked blandly.

"I know right?" He responded excitedly "When you gave me these as a present I was afraid I would have to practice throwing for years, but then an old tale Uncle Qrow told me came to mind. He told me about a legendary Huntress called the Grimm Reaper and her weapon" He explained "That's when a solution hit me, her weapon used Gravity Dust to function, it was a basic system but it served as a good base for me to work off of" He grinned and his armguard lit up again. The four knives lifted up from the ground and danced around in the air between them. Raven furrowed her brows at them and could make out thin, almost invisible, violet strings going between the blades and his hand, where they merged into a palm sized circular rune. His fingers tugged at the ring, making small adjustments like a puppet master.

"I was wondering about your impossible aim" She chose to comment instead of thinking about the immense Aura control and Dust mastery this level of manipulation would require, it would only leave her with another headache, she knew that for a fact.

"I can aim perfectly fine without assistance, but I can make trick shots with these that should normally be impossible" He defended and crossed his arms.

"What are you even doing out here?" Raven shook her head, choosing to change the subject. Caryll let his arms fall to his sides and shrugged with a thinking expression.

"I found this place while exploring a few months ago. I was confused at first but then realized that I had simply reached the end of Patch and there wasn't much else left to explore besides the town" He responded and turned to look at the sea "Since then I sometimes find myself coming here if I want to think about something, just watching the horizon… it's really relaxing" He explained calmly. Raven found herself humming in agreement, besides the bothersome salt scent this place wasn't that bad.

"I can imagine the problems a 6 year old must have" She commented sarcastically, though there wasn't much bite behind her words. She wasn't even surprised when he just laughed out loud.

"I'm just thinking… I'm sure I'll reach a plateau skill-wise sometime soon if I stay just on Patch" He confessed while watching the sunrise "I like Patch, it's safe and relatively isolated from events happening in the outside world, but that also means that there aren't any more challenges left for me"

"What do you mean?" Raven asked confusedly, she knew the kid was good, but nowhere near good enough to have no problems traversing the entirety of the island. There was no completely safe place on Remnant, even Patch had its wandering packs of Beowolves in the deeper reaches of its vast forests.

"You've heard that mom and Uncle Tai got together?" At seeing her brisk nod he continued "Him and mom tried one last time to convince me to go to Signal instead of training alone by bringing me to one of the combat classes to watch a few matches. It wasn't what I expected" He smiled wryly.

* * *

"Please?" I begged Summer with what I dubbed as the Puppy Eyes mk.2. She glared at me intensely, but I could see cracks forming in her defense over time.

"Ugh, fine" She grumbled to herself and I gave her a winning smile "Tai, sync Caryll's Aura to the screen"

"Mommy, is 'Ryl gonna fight?" The small and adorable form of a 2 year old Yang asked from Summer's arms. We couldn't really leave her alone at home so we brought her along too.

"Yes sweetie, your big brother wants to know if he can beat one of daddy's students" Summer sighed in explanation, making Yang tilt her little head to the side.

"Then why dhoesnt he jhust ask if he can?" She frowned in confusion. It was honestly adorable.

"Sometimes you just have to do something yourself to get a good answer" Summer explained patiently while frowning at me.

"Oh" Yang made a thinking face "Then kick their butts 'Ryl!" She cried out in support. At that comment I made myself scarce, not really wanting to answer Summer's interrogation about what I've been teaching my little sister.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tai asked nervously from the side where he was surrounded by his graduating class. Said kids were also sporting incredulous expressions at the whole situation.

"Yes, Dear. Don't worry about him, Caryll can handle himself" Summer sighed resignedly as I made my way happily to the stage.

"Uhh, if you say so… Scarlet you're up next" Tai called out, still skeptical about the whole thing. At being called a red haired girl around 16 muttered under her breath and stood up. As she walked up to the stage I could see a metal tube on the back of the rather casually dressed, red and silver themed girl. She got up to where I was and faced me awkwardly.

"Hi, please take me seriously. I want to test myself against someone who doesn't hold back against me" I waved cheerily at her as the lights around us dimmed until only the stage had good visibility.

"Suure" She replied with a generally all around uncomfortable expression. It seemed she wasn't sure about fighting seriously with a little kid, understandable really, I just had to prove myself to be a worthy opponent then. After that maybe we could have an exciting fight.

A sharp whistle blew from somewhere and I took it as cue to do a Hunter's salutation, which was more of a fancy bow with your right arm extended to the side and with your left hand on your heart than anything else really, but it was customary between two well-meaning Hunters sparring against each other. The girl blinked at my actions but replicated the action to show respect.

The countdown started and our hands hovered over our respective weapons, like two gunslingers waiting for noon. I have recently got a leather satchel bag from Tai for my birthday. It was apparently his grandfather's who participated in expeditions looking for Dust deposits right after the Great War. After he discovered my little experiments with Dust he reasoned that I would have more use for it than him. So now I have a way of carrying all of my Dust vials and throwing knives safely.

Tai is good guy.

It still didn't save him from my promise of death if he somehow made Summer sad. His uncomfortable expression and Qrow's rapturous laughter still cracks me up sometimes.

The counter reached zero and the girl took out her weapon, with a push of a button the metal tube expanded into a large halberd with a red blade, presumably because it was imbued with Fire Dust. Still, she didn't attack me, choosing to instead keep her distance.

Annoying, but not unexpected.

I reached inside my pouch and took out four knives with blue and red crystals embedded in them. I threw them in a straight line directly at her. The projectiles closed the distance under a second and were about to be deflected by the girl's timely block when I yanked on their invisible strings. The knives changed course abruptly and collided with each other mid-air, they deflected off from each other in a way so that when they landed they surrounded the confused girl.

I smiled and activated the Dust in them via my Aura, Fire and Water Dust reacted and produced a cloud of steam that enveloped the unfortunate girl. I could hear her coughing from where I stood, good, it was time for the next step. I threw another knife at the wall behind her with enough force for it to be embedded hilt deep, Aura enhanced muscles were a god send.

Blinded and surprised as she was, Scarlet had no chance to dodge my next strike, the only thing she heard was a light humming sound.

I flew towards her, with one armguard fully activated and with a knife in my other hand. The humming sound came from the arcing electricity over the blade, curtesy of the Lightning Dust in its injection port.

"Umph!" The air was forced out of her lungs and she was sent flying a good dozen meters before she skidded to a halt on her knees. She panted heavily and looked up in shock at me then at the screen showing our Auras. I was at 99% because of my Dust manipulation and hers sat around at 78%, it was still trickling by a little bit as the electricity played havoc with her nervous system, causing the occasional muscle spasm.

"Ready to take me seriously?" I commented with a hand on my hip. That comment seemed to shake her out of her stupor and narrow her eyes at me. She stood back up and pressed a button on her halberd that caused to shaft to shorten significantly and split the weapon into two. Now armed with two shorter axes she ran at me.

I dodged her first downward strike quite easily and deflected the follow-up strike to the side with some difficulty with a knife. It was a bit hard on my wrist but at least I learned that outright blocking an axe with such a small blade isn't a good idea.

With that lesson in mind I danced around the older teen, dodging almost all of her strikes while barely managing to block a few of her direct blows. Something seemed off about her though, her movements looked like she was moving through jelly, for the lack of a better term. I could easily track her movements and predict her attacks, which irked me a bit. I knew I wasn't that good to just completely outclass a graduating student in terms of speed. Why was she still holding back?

"Stop holding back against me" I spoke up irately while ducking under a horizontal swing.

"I'm not holding back!" She panted lightly "But we can go a step further" She smirked when I sidestepped another strike of hers and moved in to stab her midsection with a sizzling hot knife.

Only to meet no resistance and pass through a cloud of ash and cinders, making me lose my balance.

My eyes widened in surprise as I almost fell flat on my face, the cloud behind me materialized back into the form of Scarlet. She used my surprised state to swing a glowing axe into my back.

The axe met my Aura and a small explosion of fire blinded me. The force of the blow made me spin around, only to come face to face with the barrel of a shotgun built into the axe. Buckshot impacted my thigh, forcing me to a knee and leaving me open for an upward swing from the other axe. I couldn't do anything as I flew a couple of meters and landed on the hard ground lying on my back. I groaned in pain and watched stunned as Scarlet reformed the halberd and jumped into the air to strike me down. I grunted in effort and just managed to get out of the way from the blade impacting the ground. Unfortunately for me a sizeable explosion of fire erupted from the impact point and sent me flying.

I almost lost consciousness form that final blow but retained enough mental functions to know that if I didn't do something soon I would fly out of the arena and lose. I reached for two knives mid-air and threw them in the arena floor, not a moment later I used my armguards to pull myself back onto the arena, rather roughly.

I panted ruggedly from that beating down and glanced to the screen showing our Aura levels. Scarlet's was around 67% from my smaller attacks while my Aura sat around at 83%. Got to love my sizeable reserves.

I looked back at Scarlet and saw her separating the halberd back into two blazing axes, looking at the screen and showing surprise at my remaining Aura.

"That was a nice trick. Was it your Semblance?" I asked curiously as I stood back up. Scarlet looked back at me and shrugged.

"Pyrokinesis, I can control fire to a limited extent and turn myself into smoke if I want to" She explained "Still want me to go all out?" She smirked at me and twirled one of her axes.

"Are you kidding me? Things are just getting exciting" I responded enthusiastically, further surprising the teen. As much I loved training on my own or with Summer, training dummies didn't fight back and getting my ass handed to me by Summer time after time is monotonous. For me Scarlet represented a challenge to overcome, a change in pace from the everyday training.

And if she's going all out, then it's common courtesy for me to do the same.

I reached inside my satchel with both hands and brought out 8 knives with violet and bluish yellow crystals in them. I threw them in the air and with a bit a flourish guided them into the ground on the edges of the arena in a roughly octagonal shape.

I took out another knife with a bluish yellow crystal and charged at Scarlet. Halfway there my Aura screamed at me to move and I managed to dodge to the side just in time to avoid a crescent beam of flames from one of Scarlet's axes.

Right, controlling fire, should watch out for that.

I closed the distance between us and we engaged in a close melee with much the same results as before. Her movements still seemed slow as ever… she also said she wasn't holding back before, could it be that I'm simply faster than her…? That's an interesting thought, being noticeably faster and more agile than a Huntress-in-training with only 2 years of training, granted I focused on those fields specifically, but still.

The only difference in her fighting was that she now actively utilized her Semblance. Her swings produced crescent beams of fire that had a good area of effect and she turned her body into smoke and cinders every time I tried to slash at her.

I have to admit that without my little trick I would have been barbecued after a few seconds into our chaotic fight.

If one were to take a closer look at my arms they would realize that my armguards were working overtime, flashing every couple of seconds and subtly pulling my body into seemingly random directions. Though if they only glanced to the edge of the arena they would see my knives light up one at a time, attracting my body when needed, thus greatly enhancing my apparently already great speed.

We fought like that for a few minutes, with neither of us gaining the upper hand. I was too fast for her to hit and I couldn't exploit any openings as she would just turn herself into smoke before I struck. I was grinning all the way through though. Every evaded scorching swing felt amazing and every attempted counter just raised my determination to be faster next time.

It was fun, I realized. It was like dancing in a way, for a minute or two I didn't even try to win, finding myself enjoying our little stalemate. Though after that few minutes I remembered why I even requested to spar. I wanted a challenge to overcome.

I wanted to win.

So with that thought I sobered up and thought about how to end this quickly. Despite my apparent speed advantage it was clear I wasn't faster than her Semblance. That left Dust, the only other thing in my arsenal to overcome her advantage. Fire Dust was out of the question, she would just throw it right back at me. Wind would also just amplify her flames, Water would evaporate and Ice would just melt.

I wasn't even going to mention Inferno Dust, even if that didn't just outright kill her, then she could use it against me.

I shuddered at the thought.

Gravity was also out, it was a fickle and volatile material. Earth could be of use- wait a minute…

I hummed to myself and decided it was better than nothing, and I was getting hungry from all this fighting anyways.

I jumped over a circular strike of Scarlet's halberd while reaching for a yellow colored vial in my bag. I imbued a bit of Aura into the Dust to gain control over it and landed in a crouch. Scarlet turned to strike at me when I decided to start my grand master plan.

I threw the vial at her and watched her expression of surprise as it exploded on contact with her chest in a shower of sparks and arcing electricity.

I closed in to the shocked, pun fully intended, girl and disarmed her of her weapon with a crescent kick. I quickly followed up with an Aura enhanced palm heel strike to her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs.

Capitalizing on her dazed state I used her shoulder to jump into the air and threw a knife with a brown crystal at her feet. It detonated on impact and trapped her legs in freshly formed stone. I landed a good few meters away and held up a victory sign at the girl.

Scarlet shook off the disorientation and glanced around worriedly as she heard loud humming from all around her. The humming sound came from the 8 knives I placed around the arena to aid in my movement, now that I had no more use for them I ordered the Gravity Dust in them through my Aura to go nuts. This caused them to attract things, especially each other, or in this case move to the shared center of their combined gravitational pull.

Unfortunately for Scarlet, that was where she was currently trapped at.

The knives yanked themselves out of the ground and raced towards her, where they collided and the extra Lightning Dust in them activated, resulting in an explosion of violet haze and arcing electricity.

A loud buzzing sound signaled the end of the spar. Looking at the screen it showed Scarlet's Aura flashing just below 20% while outlining my name as the winner of the match. The lights came back on and revealed a flabbergasted audience.

"Twhat was shoo cool 'Ryl!" Yang clapped excitedly from Summer's arms, bless her heart. Poor Tai looked like he saw a ghost, probably because he realized I could actually follow through my threat. His students were gaping like fish, though I don't know what kind of reaction I expected from them, they did just witness a kid from kindergarten wipe the floor with one of their own.

Summer was the only one who didn't look even a little bit surprised, choosing to instead clap as best as she could, with Yang in her arms, while rolling her eyes at me.

I heard tired groaning from behind me and turned to see Scarlet lying on her back. I walked to her and spoke up.

"Thanks for the spar, it was fun while it lasted" I told her appreciatively "…Do you want help to get up?" I asked unsurely as I observed her beaten up clothing.

"No, I think I'll just rest here for a while…" She moaned then turned her head to me, looking at me incredulously "What the hell kind of a kid are you?" I hummed and sat down beside her.

"People call me a prodigy" I shrugged "But just between us two, I'm just a bored 6 year old with too much free time on his hands" I admitted with a smile.

"I was trounced by a 6 year old" She muttered disbelievingly. I can sympathize with her, I would have felt the same way if someone 10 years my junior defeated me… Now that I think about it I would have felt exactly like her if I lost now, I'm 26 now after all.

"Nah, you held your own for a good while, you made me work for victory" I told her honestly.

"Made you work for victory… You basically won the match when you placed your knives around the arena" She pointed out bitterly.

"True enough, though I had to get a feel of your Semblance first to make sure the trap would work" I told her about my master plan "Gave up after a few minutes and decided to just zap you. I was thinking that if you couldn't even control your body then your Semblance was out of the question as well. It surprisingly worked and I sprung the trap" I explained my reasoning. Scarlet looked at me with wide eyes and adapted a thoughtful expression.

"…That would have never occurred to me" She murmured and turned to stare at the ceiling.

We sat there silently for a few moments before I decided to speak up.

"So, want to be friends?" Scarlet looked at me like I was crazy before bursting out laughing.

"You beat the crap out of people and ask if they want to be friends with you?" She laughed good-heartedly.

"First time trying, did it work?" I shrugged and raised an eyebrow at her. She shook her head and chuckled.

"Sure, why not. I'll be your friend you little monster" She smiled at me, causing me to grin at her.

"Awesome, want to have lunch? I'm hungry…"

* * *

"I fail to see why you would consider that a bad impression" Raven asked with a raised eyebrow after hearing his tale. She didn't really care about his social life but found herself correcting her previous statement about him beating her 12 year old counterpart.

After hearing him out she wouldn't be so sure about her 15 year old counterpart's victory…

"Turns out Scarlet wasn't representing the norm at Signal" Caryll muttered disappointedly.

"Was she bottom of the class?"

"Worse" He whined "Previously unbeaten Valedictorian of the graduating class, last time we talked she said she was being offered a scholarship at Beacon" He complained animatedly.

"… You've fought other students as well, didn't you?"

"… All of the graduating class one after the other" He winced "None of them lasted a whole minute. I was so annoyed by the end that I just forced them to forfeit rather than chop at their Aura just to save time" He crossed his arms and pouted.

"…" Raven just stared at him with a blank expression.

"What? It's not my fault they couldn't get out of a simple textbook chokehold! Done by a 6 year old no less!" He protested indignantly with his arms crossed.

"I'm honestly not sure I want to find out what kind of monster you'll become when you grow up" Raven said slowly while he smirked at her.

"Is Auntie Raven, the hardy bandit Huntress afraid of little old me?" He asked with a seemingly innocent expression.

"Watch your tongue brat or I'll cut it out for you" She warned seriously.

"Oh, I know you wouldn't hurt your godson Auntie" He smirked confidently.

…

…

"What did you just say?" Raven asked with a tone promising pain and suffering if she found him messing with her.

"Uhum, I was bored so I went through some of mom's older paperwork" He explained with a mischievous expression "Since my father wasn't around at my birth, and still isn't, mom nominated you back then to take care of me if something ever happened to her. Things changed and mom is with Uncle Tai now, but the paperwork is still there and is valid legally. So that technically makes you my godmother" He shrugged nonchalantly.

…

…

"Do you want me to call you mom too or is Auntie fine with you?"

…

…

"I have to go now" Raven stated curtly and cut a portal in the air. She walked through it briskly without a single goodbye or any sort of acknowledgement to her self-proclaimed nephew and god-… she didn't want to finish that sentence. She had no time to waste, she had to check those documents for confirmation, and she didn't care if she would have to tear through her wayward leader's personal belongings in her bird form to find those damn papers.

* * *

_Things happening through the eyes of Raven, wanted to justify her interest in Caryll a bit._

_Caryll finding the location where Summer's grave would be in the future was a total accident on his part *Caryll whistles innocently in the background*._

_Caryll learned something from Penny and decided on using ethereal strings instead of metal ones. Also, before someone comments about it, we see multiple characters other than Weiss using runic glyphs when using Dust, literally in the first episode. Oh, and I'm running with the Manga explanation for Aura in the sense that you can imbue anything with Aura and enhance/activate them; knives, Dust or body parts for example._

_Summer and Tai finally got together, I'll delve deeper into it next chapter but mentioned a few things now. Ruby will still be born, just decided to split this year into two chapters instead of one._

_Hope you enjoyed the fight. I put it in to show you where Caryll roughly stands right now in terms of combat prowess. Before you complain about the absurdity of him winning let me remind you that he is by all means a trained fighter. Summer, an elite Huntress trains him when she can, he has hand to hand down and he mainly uses Dust to overcome his physical limitations._

_Most importantly; he is a thinking fighter. He doesn't win by hacking at an enemy until they drop dead. He lays down traps and plays the long game if needed to overcome his physically stronger opponents._

_Pictures a distressed bird flipping desks and tearing though paperwork in Summer's bedroom while cawing loudly, of course with a broken window in the background._

_Only two more chapters until Semblance reveal, and well… the next chapter will be titled Oculi Promissionem so you can take a guess at what it will be about._

_Until next time._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the fifth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. I originally planned another scene for this chapter as well, but then realized that it would be a bit long if I added it now. So, the final product is a little family chapter with Summer and Caryll._

_I have received some criticism regarding my decision of letting Caryll curb stomp Signal graduates. While I appreciate negative criticism if it's constructive, and these were constructive, I believe there is a simple misunderstanding here that I would like to clear up. If you don't want to listen to my explanation then you can skip straight onto the story._

_Firstly, allow me to split my argument into two parts; why Caryll should win and why the students shouldn't._

_Caryll wins: While indeed Caryll is a skinny kid, he uses Aura to amplify what little strength he has. You pointed out that even that is a bit of stretch, but I would like to present you a few cases; 1: Ruby using her scythe to causally chop a tree in half while following Weiss. You could argue that it's an over exaggeration for comedic purposes, but later we see Ruby beheading the Giant Nevermore. You could call Ruby a lot of things, but overly muscular isn't one of them. 2: They chop off parts of the mech during Volume 2, parts that are probably made of solid steel. 3. In Volume 3 we see Qrow and Winter just leaping football field length distances like it's nothing. If Aura can do that to an adult then it's not much of a stretch to believe that a skinny six year old could punch you in the face._

_As stated before, Caryll doesn't rely on strength, he relies on Dust and on tactics. He only attacked Scarlet last chapter in close quarters to get a feel of her Semblance, his real way of winning was by trapping her._

_On the topic of keeping up with her, he trained specifically in speed and reaction time, he doesn't care about physical strength in the least. Plus, I haven't mentioned it yet, but Summer oversees his training in speed… you'll see why that is a big thing._

_Students lose: I always imagined the average Academy student like Team CRDL or SNNN minus Sun, they can hold their own in a simple fight but they are nothing special. Meanwhile Team RWBY and JNPR are prodigies that could give an inexperienced Hunter a run for their money in terms of skill._

_Combat education on Remnant begins at the age of thirteen, I've said that while Caryll talked to Summer about Aura and school. That's four years in pre-Academy, so that allows for Pyrrha's four time champion status while still drifting dangerously close to child soldier status, which I don't care what people say, is illegal. Even thirteen would be illegal IRL, the last time a western nation allowed child soldiers that old in war was in WWII and even that was controversial, even in a morally fucked up country like Nazi Germany. I can imagine a few exceptions to the rule, but they are just that. Exceptions._

_Lastly, combat experience. The graduates have four years of standard education/training for three/four hours a day with a single teacher for all of them and they follow a shared training plan that is fitted for the masses rather than the individual (based off of a normal school system) while Caryll has been training for two years, more extensively with the sole attention of a premier Huntress. He may be younger, but he definitely has more practical experience than them._

_And that will be all, I hope you can understand my reasoning and I thank you for reviewing._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. OCs are mine though._

* * *

**Chapter 5: Oculi Promissionem**

"What's this?" I looked at the weapon in my hands with confusion.

"A bow," Summer pointed out the obvious. "I would have thought you would recognize one after 26 years," she teased goodheartedly. I glared at her in response, though there wasn't much heat behind the action.

"I know what a bow is, Summer," I replied while shaking my head. "What I meant to say is why are we in the backyard this early in the morning and why did you shove this in my hands the moment we got here?" I explained while motioning to the wooden practice bow in my hands, strangely fitted to my size.

"To teach you archery, silly." She put a hand on her hip with a smile and I blinked in confusion.

"I've already designed my weapon and it doesn't have an in-built bow… Besides, I have my throwing knives to fall back on," I pointed out, nodding to my armguards. "So why would I learn archery?"

"You never know when it might come in handy. A good Hunter is versatile," Summer shrugged with an innocent expression. I narrowed my eyes at her in suspicion.

"Oh, really? So, this has completely nothing to do with the fact that your weapon is partly a bow?" I accused with a disbelieving expression.

"Yes-! Or no," Summer shook her head exasperatedly. "Ugh, look I just wanted to teach it to you, but if you don't want to learn it then it's fine," she crossed her arms and looked away from me, though her pout told me that it was indeed not 'fine'. I sighed and glanced at the bow then back at Summer.

"Why are you so adamant about this anyway?" Summer chewed on her lip uncertainly before sighing as well.

"…It's just that it's tradition in our family for the older generation to pass down all of our skills to the younger generation," she said quietly. "…It may not seem like it but I was born and raised outside the kingdom's walls. Things are…. harder out in the deeper reaches of the Grimmlands, no laws or armies to protect you from the dangers out there. Family was the only thing you could rely on…" She trailed off reminiscently. "Some families pride themselves in the many warriors, great heroes or leaders their lineage contains, but we Roses were always Hunters before all else, even before the title became official."

"My grandfather trained my father and he taught me archery when I was young… I just remember being so excited, thinking that maybe one day I can do the same with my children… But I understand if you don't want to... Seeing as you don't even consider yourself a child…" She looked away sadly. "Or even a Rose," she added quietly under her breath.

"What makes you say that?" I stared at her with a frown. "Have you ever heard me using any other name other than the one you've given me? I may not have let go of my past fully, but I embraced my new life with you as my family without hesitation," I told her seriously.

"Then why-… you know what? Nevermind." She shook her head with a complicated expression that I couldn't quite place. An uncomfortable silence followed after that, which allowed me think. I really don't need to know any archery skills whatsoever… but it seemed important to Summer, and it would make her happy if I even just tried… I really disliked seeing her sad…

Family is so tiresome.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I'll learn how to launch sticks at high speeds from you." I rolled my eyes and was rewarded with an instantly brighter expression from Summer.

"Really? You would?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure, I can try at least," I shrugged with an easy smile. "By the way, on the topic of names, in the last six years of my time with you, I've been thinking… What color reminded you of me to name me Caryll? For the life of me I've tried to guess, but Caryll hardly reminds me of any color," I asked in genuine curiosity. I liked my name, but it was a bit confusing to me.

"Oh, you aren't actually named after a color," Summer admitted sheepishly at hearing my question. "I actually named you after my grandfather, he was a hero of the Great War," she explained. "He was an amazing person who did great things in his time. Call it a mother's intuition, but when you were born and I first laid eyes upon you I knew you were going to follow in his footsteps, so the choice was an easy one," she smiled reminiscently. I nodded thoughtfully and returned to examine the bow in my hands, giving a few test pulls on the string.

"Have you ever shot a bow before?" She asked interestedly and I made a so-so gesture.

"It feels like a lifetime ago, but yes, I have." I paused then we both snickered at the unintentional pun. "But seriously… It was like ten years ago, when I was like sixteen. I was helping out in a summer camp and took it up with the campers," I told her evenly. "I wasn't bad, but I wouldn't expect myself to win any competitions," I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hmm, I'll set up a target and we'll see how good you are," she hummed to herself and walked over the clearing and placed an empty bottle on a low-hanging branch. It wasn't that far away, maybe 20 meters at most. I motioned for Summer to give me some arrows and she tossed me her quiver. I caught it and put in on my back clumsily, it was definitely a few sizes too big for me.

"Hey, want to make a bet?" I proposed suddenly with a smirk. Summer retreated to the side and raised an eyebrow at me.

"What kind of bet?"

"If I hit the bottle the first time then… you'll have to take me on with you on your next mission," I announced evenly.

"I'm not sure you're ready for that…" She winced. "Skill-wise you can definitely handle almost anything Patch could offer, but my missions are a bit more difficult than normal, low-level Grimm extermination," she pointed out with a concerned expression.

"Maybe you're right… Then how about taking me out on one of those lower level Grimm extermination missions you mentioned? Nothing too serious of course, if anything more dangerous than Beowolves or Ursai show up you can take it from there," I responded while taking out an arrow. "I may want the challenge, but I would like to avoid an early grave." Thankfully it didn't have Dust in it, or any other nasty surprises.

"Hmm, that sounds reasonable. And if you miss?" She nodded in agreement.

"I'll leave it up to you," I shrugged and notched the arrow.

"Then you better not miss," she warned playfully.

"I won't," I declared confidently.

I aimed in the right direction, evened my breathing, accounted for gravity and the almost non-existent wind.

I let loose of the arrow and watched it fly towards the target…

…And pass by it and hit the tree behind it.

"You missed," Summer pointed out while snickering to herself.

"I've noticed," I grumbled lowly. Maybe I was that bad.

"Okay, it seems like you lost. And that means… you'll have to come hunting for lunch with me," she chirped happily, which left me confused.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" I turned away from the impromptu firing range and faced her.

"Seeing as how your archery skills leave a lot to be desired…" She ignored my indignant protest. "We'll be here for a while, which means I can't leave for the town to buy food for us. Hunting something in the forest would be much faster," she reasoned evenly.

"Does that mean you'll be teaching me how to hunt?" I questioned excitedly at the prospect.

"Of course," she confirmed happily. "But first we'll have to do something about that terrible technique of yours…" I groaned at her teasing.

* * *

After spending the entirety of our morning making sure I could shoot straight, Summer told me to change into something more comfortable and to meet her outside the house. Previously having experienced the pleasant weather outside I opted to wear some black pants, a silver hoodie with a simple scarf of the same color that I could put over my face if I ever saw the need to. I also brought along my satchel bag full of Dust and throwing knives and also put on some fingerless black gloves.

I stepped through the front door of our log cabin house while adjusting the clasps on one of my armguards and came face to face with Summer. According to her we would only hunt animals, not actual Grimm, but it never hurts to be prepared.

"So, where do we start?" I asked as I stopped before her. She looked at me and tossed me the practice bow and a spare quiver filled with traditional arrows.

"How much do you know about tracking and pursuing?" She asked me while bringing out her weapon, Laminae, and transformed it into its bow configuration. Laminae was a scary weapon… The base configuration was a short sword with two separate blades intertwining like vines, forming a warped and wicked looking blade that could cause horrendous wounds which caused victims to bleed out quickly.

By victims I mean Grimm, I could never imagine Summer ever attacking someone with genuine killing intent.

Furthermore, with only a push of a button the weapon can be separated into two thinner bladed swords for dual wielding and close-range fighting. The third and final form was the bow. The two smaller swords could be locked together at the base of their hilts, while a string could be extended from the blades' tips. In my experience Summer only ever used this form when she was ready to rain hell down on her opponents using the arsenal of Dust imbued arrows in her quiver.

"Not much to be honest," I confessed with a shrug, it wasn't a hobby of mine back then. "Are we going to look for broken twigs, footprints and animal poo?" I frowned, repulsed at the thought of the last option. Summer chuckled at my question and shook her head.

"Oh no, we're going to use something much simpler and effective, though after we're done I can teach you those methods too if you want," she offered with a smile.

"So, what is this 'wonder' method you're talking about?" I air-quoted interestedly.

"Remember what I used to discover you had Aura?" I frowned in thought for a moment.

"…Aura sensing," I muttered in realization. "Are you teaching me that?" I asked excitedly. I've been pestering Summer about this for some time but she always told me I needed great control over my Aura in order to utilize it effectively.

"Yes, but first in order to understand what you'll be attempting we'll have to clarify some things," she clapped her hands excitedly. "Firstly, tell me what Aura is exactly," she questioned. I hummed in thought for a few moments before answering. I have studied the topic of Aura extensively during my years of trying to unlock it so I took my time to formulate a thorough answer.

"Aura is the manifestation of the soul… Every living creature has Aura, though only sapient species like humans and Faunus can awaken its full potential on their own. A person through training can learn to control their Aura in order to perform feats that are otherwise considered impossible, like withstanding deadly blows, healing grievous injuries, imbue and enhance objects or our own body and lastly it can serve as fuel for Semblances," I listed off my explanation.

"What about Grimm?" Summer motioned for me to continue.

"They don't have souls as they are the manifestations of darkness itself," I shrugged, I answered that simply by remembering that they were created by the God of Darkness.

"Good, do you see where I'm going with this?" She raised an inquisitive eyebrow. I thought silently for a few seconds before looking at her unsurely.

"…Are you saying I could somehow use my Aura to feel the world around me?" I said hesitantly, though it seemed I was wrong as Summer shook her head.

"Close, but not really. You can use your Aura to feel the Aura of other things around you. Here, channel Aura to your hand and hold mine." She channeled her Aura to her hand, letting the white waves dance across her black dress. I did the same and watched as similar, albeit silver colored waves enveloped my arm. I looked at Summer's arm and tentatively reached to touch her hand…

Wow.

"It's so warm…" I marveled at our clasped hand with wide eyes. "What is happening?" I breathed as I watched the ethereal waves of our Auras clashing and intermixing with each other.

"Our Auras are interacting and familiarizing with each other. What you're feeling is the impression your Aura tells you about the person you're interacting with… you could say that we're touching souls," she smiled warmly at me. I nodded distractedly, eyes still locked on our hands. I felt so… warm and safe, the light of her soul shined with a brightness that banished any darkness even in the deepest reaches of her soul. It was indescribable, if I didn't know Summer previously then I would have gotten a deeply detailed image of her personality and mindset. The amount of emotions and images I was receiving was almost enough to make me cry.

Was this what Ozpin meant about a simple and honest soul?

Was she experiencing the same with my soul?

I was shaken out of my thoughts when Summer released my hand and moved to wipe a tear from her eyes.

"As you can see it's a pretty overwhelming process emotionally. It's also considered an intimate gesture between close friends or family because of this," she elaborated, a bit shaken up. "If you do this with someone enough times, your Auras can become familiar enough with each other to imitate the other. Experienced Hunters use this for emergency Aura transfer and such, but the reason I showed you this now is because it's good practice for sensing foreign Aura sources," she lectured while I nodded interestedly.

"The next step of sensing is a lot harder, it is actually taught in the third year of Academy, so don't worry if you don't get it right the first time," Summer said in warning. "The basic principle is similar to the previous exercise's. You use your Aura to sense the foreign Aura around you, but now instead of channeling it in your body, you project it outside and saturate the surrounding area with it. It's a bit costly when you first activate it but you only need a little Aura to maintain the field around you. It shouldn't be a problem for you with your reserves," she advised.

That sounds… complicated. I'm somewhat proficient with channeling Aura through my body and infusing things with it, but I never tried infusing Aura into air before… I concentrated my Aura on the skin of my arm and tried to push it outwards. The silvery shroud became visible again and tried to separate from my body. It cut off from me in a transparent wave… then it fizzled and disappeared from sight. I sighed but remembered Summer's words, I moved to try again but Summer's voice stopped me.

"Something's wrong… Your Aura shouldn't do that," she frowned at my arm. "Even if you didn't do the process correctly, your Aura should have dissipated into your surroundings instead of just disappearing into nothing," she explained with a thinking expression.

"Is that a problem?" I asked warily, we were messing with my soul here, hearing that it behaved weirdly was a bit unsettling.

"I don't know yet… Take a knife and channel Aura into it," she ordered suddenly, I complied and took out a plain knife from my bag. "Now slash at the air while pushing out Aura from it. It should form a crescent beam of Aura," she elaborated. I nodded and slashed in the direction of a few trees. The beam formed without problem but after a few meters it fizzled and ceased to exist.

"That… could complicate things for you," Summer said uncomfortably, making me a bit anxious. "That was one of the basic Aura projection techniques taught in the Academies, if you can't do it then it means you can only control Aura while it's in you or in objects you have come into contact with," she explained to me, making me wince. "Have you found your Semblance yet? Your control over Aura is otherwise amazing, maybe the nature of your Semblance limits your outside control?" Summer theorized out loudly.

"No, I haven't… Does that mean you can't teach me Aura sensing?" I asked tentatively, I really wanted to learn that.

"No, at least not in the traditional sense," she shook her head. "Fortunately for you, you inherited my eyes, which give you an alternative," she beamed a megawatt smile that somehow instantly made me feel better.

"How can they help me here? I mean I thought they were an anti-Grimm flashlight and that's it," I stated curiously, at least that's the extent they went into them in the show.

"Hmm, I could tell you but we would be wasting daylight, so how about jumping into practice straight away?" My stomach growled loudly, voicing its outmost support. "Thought so, now channel Aura to your eyes," Summer chuckled with an innocent expression.

That's it? The solution to my sensory problem is an easy one like that? Was she se-

I collapsed on the spot like a sack of potatoes and blacked out for a moment.

When I came to I was faced with the form of Summer, laughing and pointing at me with a hand on her stomach.

"You should have seen your expression! It was hilarious!" She snickered while trying to compose herself.

"What the hell was that?! Everything was so bright and colorful like an acid trip!" I complained loudly and got back up.

"Sensory overload, it happens to everyone on their first time," Summer explained between a few stray chuckles. "Now do it again, but slower this time to give you time to adjust," she instructed sagely.

I repeated the process, much, much more carefully this time. A few seconds of mindful channeling later my vision shifted to show me the world in transparent shapes and diluted colors.

I could see through trees and see almost unbidden into the distance. The only reason I could make out any objects was because their outlines remained. Trees, bushes and grass had a green tinge to them, while inanimate objects like our fence, house and my bow had a diluted white outline. I wondered at my raised hands, I could clearly make out my bright silver Aura shifting in my body, calmly like water or air. Another bright source of light caught my attention and I looked to see a literal rainbow of colors emanating from my satchel bag. Dust was shiny but it had nothing on the sheer brightness of my own Aura.

I turned to look at our house and I could see two human forms sitting on our living room couch. Both of them were highlighted with different shades of gold.

Was I seeing Yang and Tai through walls?

"Breathtaking, isn't it?" I blinked and turned to look at Summer. Her own brilliant silver eyes were shining warmly at me.

"What is this…?" I asked with an amazed expression.

"In layman's terms since we can't make your Aura go outside, we just force Aura outside to flow to you. Just like you said every living being possesses Aura though only we can control it. This lack of control means that everything subconsciously emits Aura from themselves. You can use your gift to see the light in the world and in those around you," she explained, pointing at a few birds passing by, they were highlighted in brown. "It's an arguably better way of sensing but you can only sense what's in front of you and only people with our gift can learn this method."

I chose to inspect the ground beneath my feet and almost did a double take as I could see for a few hundred meters downwards as well before the visibility was reduced to nothing. If I squinted enough I could even make out large colored blobs underneath, though they were really deep.

Was that Dust?

Man, this is trippy.

"Caryll, look at this." Summer's voice shook me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see her pointing at something on the ground. I looked a bit closer and saw that it was a couple of footprints from some animal that was highlighted with a faint brown glow.

"Looks like some wild animal wandered near our house… Probably a larger one as well," I answered after pondering on the size of the footprints. "But why can I see this as well?" I asked, why would a footprint have Aura?

"What you see right now isn't the footprint actually, it's the residue Aura the animal left behind as it went by… Judging by the amount left it's relatively fresh," she clarified and then adopted a mischievous expression. "How about a little race? If you can track it down before me, I can maybe reconsider taking you on a simpler mission like you wanted," she offered in a sing-song voice. I narrowed my eyes and looked a bit farther into the forest, now that the tracks were pointed out to me I could see them clear as day.

"Oh, you're so on-" I began then noticed that Summer has already disappeared from view. "Hey, that's cheating!" I called out while channeling Aura to my legs. I broke out into a sprint and jumped up into the trees to travel on the thicker branches.

* * *

Twenty minutes.

It took twenty minutes of fast cruising through the forest to catch up with the animal. It turned out to be a deer at least, so at least it would be enough to feed the four of us. I think I would have broken my bow if it turned out to be a simple rabbit or something.

Regardless, I was trying to stealthily approach my prey so I could get a better shot at it from up above. Fortunately, it was a common flaw of grounded animals to not look up for any predators, it even allowed me to approach it without worrying about wind direction and such.

I quietly hopped to a lower branch and notched an arrow. I deactivated my new vision and took aim at the thing. I waited in anticipation for any possible interruptions before internally shrugging and letting go of the arrow.

The arrow flew true and hit the deer in the neck. It collapsed on the forest floor and cried in agony as it rapidly bled out. Poor animal, I took out a knife from my bag and prepared to jump down to it and end its suffering when I felt a hand on my shoulder keeping me in place.

I looked to the side and saw Summer holding up a finger to her mouth in a shushing motion. I looked at her confusedly but remained silent. I motioned for the suffering animal quizzically but she shook her head and pointed at her shining eyes. I blinked before nodding in understanding. There was something here I wasn't seeing. I activated my eyes again and-

Darkness.

Three figures of darkness were hiding behind some bushes on the other side of the clearing. Unlike anything else, I didn't see through them, rather they sucked in the light around themselves like some sort of twisted black hole. I then realized that I wasn't seeing them directly, rather I just saw the weird effect they had on their surroundings.

Grimm.

Beowolves most likely. Patch only had relatively low level Grimm and even they were low in numbers. The blobs were too small to be Ursai or anything larger so that left Beowolves as potential candidates. If I was right then this would be rather quick… Beowolves were literally cannon fodder against Hunters, I would say they were a joke, but it's not even funny.

The blobs moved into the clearing cautiously and surrounded the now bled out animal. They prodded at it curiously with their snouts and smelled the air curiously. Huh, it seems like they haven't noticed us yet, I noted curiously. It was also my first time seeing Grimm with my own eyes. I read countless books about them, their biology, evolution and mentality, but seeing them myself is something else.

I deactivated my eyes and looked at them closer. Their thick fur seemed to absorb the light around them while their wicked bone protrusions seemed to do the opposite and reflect the light around them brightly. Their eyes were a sickly yellow and red and black, translucent saliva dripped from their snouts. Their sheer presence seemed to emanate hatred and negativity.

I can't wait to rid the world of these things en-masse… but this also gives me an opportunity.

Summer seemed to have a similar idea to my former thought and swiftly took out three Fire Dust arrows form her quiver. She almost shot all three creatures at once but I put a halting hand on her wrist. She looked at me for an explanation and I pointed at my eyes and mimicked an explosion. She blinked once then nodded, with a reassuring squeeze on my shoulder she smiled at me and pointed two of her fingers at her own eyes then at mine in a gesture meaning 'I'll be watching'. I nodded appreciatively and she disappeared in the blink of an eye.

I let out a silent breath and looked back towards the three Beowolves down below. It was time to fully awaken my eyes. I closed my eyes and tried to remember what Maria said in her explanation… I need Grimm to be present, check, I need to remember the beautiful experiences of my life to get into a certain mindset… Alright let's do this…

I remembered death, how the eternal darkness seemed to soothe me, and how happy I was there, just slumbering…

…

…

…

I don't feel anything different, perhaps it's not enough…

I thought back to the times Qrow told me his stories of adventure while Tai was sitting in the background pointing out all the plot holes with a satisfied grin on his face. Then how Qrow would protest that his stories were at least better than his, to which Tai would offer to tell me about how Qrow showed up in a skirt for Initiation at Beacon. Needless to say, the round of bickering that followed left me smiling all night.

They are nice people.

My thoughts then turned to Yang, that little ball of sunshine. She was so small and innocent now that I have a hard time believing she will turn into her older self one day. She is and will be a good person and even if she somehow won't be, we'll still be family, I'll be there for her anytime she needs me.

…

…

Nothing is happening… Am I missing something? Was there a third condition? …I'll try one more time before stopping, things like these can't be forced after all.

I thought back to my first meeting with Raven… Despite my previous knowledge about her I have to admit that I didn't dislike her. When I first saw her… I had fun, mostly at her expense, but still, but more importantly she was the first person I could open up to, knowing full well that she wouldn't give a damn about me either way. It was a liberating experience in a way, I even lived in the knowledge that she was doing just that, a portal to me means little when she had one to other members of her tribe she rarely gives the light of day.

Then one day she gives me a present on her own volition. It surprised me so much that I stopped and just thought for a while. Before that I genuinely thought that she didn't give a damn, but then I saw her vulnerable expression, looking like she expected me throw it back at her face. It was an epiphany for me.

My 'thank you' and smile back then were genuine, and after that I didn't call her Auntie just to aggravate her.

…She is family.

She may be a bandit leader who robs and kills people for a living and she may have left her family for seemingly no reason other than running away from Ozpin's and Salem's secret war… but she's family. Under all the bravado, cold indifference, insecurities and all around rough personality laid a troubled person who didn't know how to handle her problems and express herself.

I want to be there for her too… not because she deserves it or because I believe she can change, but because she's family, and being there for each other is what family's for.

Throughout my reminiscence I ignored the itching feeling behind my eyes that continued to bug me, once or twice I tried to wipe it away with the sleeve of my hoodie, thinking it was tears but it persisted.

I then remembered my rebirth and the first person who held me. Summer's beaming smile was etched into my mind that day and I can remember it with perfect clarity even now. I remembered my rare moments of clarity during my early childhood and the loving smiles she would have every time she looked at me. Memories of her supporting my dreams and accepting my decisions flashed across my mind and left me close to crying.

Why won't this damn itching feeling go away? My eyes feel like they are on fire…

Then she forgave me after I admitted to what was essentially lying to her for years. She went out her way to help and understand me… S-she was there when I was training and cheered me on. She wormed her way to be the centerpiece of my life and became so important that I wouldn't hesitate to return to eternal rest if it meant she could live…

A final memory of a slab of stone on top of a cliff on the coast flashed across my mind.

Feeling like my eyes were about to burst into flames I snapped them open and the world went white.

…

I blinked away my disorientation and bore witness to small clouds of ash being carried away by the breeze.

I did it? That's good… I thought tiredly and found myself falling forward like a sack of potatoes. Fortunately, before I could have impacted the ground I was snatched mid-air by Summer.

"I knew you could do it!" She cheered proudly. "And it was a powerful blast as well! What were you thinking about anyway?" She asked excitedly and put me down on my feet carefully.

Your grave, "I love you," I embraced her tightly while tears flowed down my face. To Summer's credit she just took it in stride and hugged me back gently.

"Your feet might feel a bit wobbly, your eyes work off of your stamina instead of your Aura. Don't worry, with training the drain can be reduced greatly until you can do it on the fly," she whispered into my ear and I nodded tiredly.

"Summer… promise me something," I hiccupped through tears.

"Anything," she responded readily.

"When you feel like doing something that even you think is really, really stupid… Tell me so I can help." I always knew that she would somehow die during one of her missions sometime in the future, but never knew when exactly. She goes on missions all the time, sometimes for weeks on end, knowing which mission would be her last was simply impossible. That left two possibilities for me to work with. One; watch out for Ozpin giving her an impossible mission and convince her not to go… but as shady as Ozpin was, he would never intentionally sacrifice someone like Summer. Two… Summer was always too kind hearted for her own good, it's possible she would somehow find something that would make her go AWOL and sacrifice herself for the greater good or something. In that case there would be nothing I could do to change her mind, so instead of that I'll go with her and help. Gods know I will be strong enough to help when the time comes…

…Right?

"I promise." I felt her nod hesitantly. We stood there motionlessly for what felt like minutes, with the only sound in hearing distance being my sobs. We separated and I went to wipe away the tears from my puffy cheeks.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked kindly. I nodded tiredly in response. I'll get stronger… not just for myself but for you as well… I'll become strong enough to save you.

That's my promise to you Summer.

"Then come on, we'll have to take back the carcass to the house and butcher it… Oh by the way, you'll be helping me with that," she grinned cheekily at my expression of disgust. Driven by curiosity, and not because otherwise I would be totally lost in the middle of the forest, I activated my eyes and looked around, looking for Tai's or Yang's Aura on the horizon-

"Say Summer," I spoke up with a smile spreading across my red and puffy face.

"Mhmm?" She hummed from beside the deer.

"All life has Aura, right?" I said with mirthful eyes.

"Yes, why are you asking?" She stopped what she was doing and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"I may have a good name in mind for her…" I trailed off and smiled at Summer with shining eyes. In the middle of her Aura's warm glow resided a much, much smaller Ruby red shroud.

* * *

_And there you have it, some bonding time between mother and son with exposition thrown in._

_*Sheds a tear as I realize that Summer never had the chance to teach Yang or Ruby archery*_

_The beginnings of an outfit take form! But as you can see it's not much, seeing as you can't exactly dress up a 6 year old in an adult's clothes._

_Summer gets a weapon! For reference it's based off of the Blade of Mercy and Simon's Bowblade, both from Bloodborne._

_A few applications of Aura, canon makes it so plain honestly, wanted to spice it up a little. Oh, also Aura transfer is different from Jaune's Semblance, that's Aura amplification, not direct transfer._

_Ah Caryll, next chapter you'll realize why you suck at Aura projection…_

_More use for Silver Eyes! In canon they are just anti-Grimm flashlights, so I decided to do the same to what I did with Aura. Nothing out of the realm of possibilities that the story showed us, but just quality of life improvements such as Eagle/Detective/Predator Vision._

_Tai will get his own screen time a few chapters from now._

_It seems Caryll came down with a serious case of the sad. I suggest he gets at least a few hugs from Summer and a jar of cookies, daily._

_**Reviews:**_

_Ashborn2271: See the response to Lord-Azrael's review for a taste of that reality._

_Dzerx: He sure does too._

_pokemonrot377: *thumbs up*_

_Lord-Azrael3: Unfortunately, I have already have decided on his Semblance and you guys will be seeing it next chapter *cough* it's totally no OP in the right hands *cough* but I can respond to your ideas:_

_That's kinda spoiler-y and sounds really, really paradoxical._

_*Young Caryll stands in front of mirror*  
Caryll: I want to see what I'll look like 15 years from now!  
*Older Caryll with an eyepatch appears in place of the younger one*  
Caryll: What the hell happened to my eye-* *due to a temporal paradox caused by him knowing he will lose an eye Caryll strives to change fate, he succeeds and causes his older-present self to cease to exist, also because of this younger Caryll never know he will lose an eye, thus nullifying any change he had caused*  
Messing with time is not fun._

_Same, but I can't get this scene out of my head._

_*The whole gang dogpiles Salem and holds her down*  
Ruby: Do it now Caryll!  
Caryll: *Touches Salem* Aand, baby Salem! *Salem turns into a baby*  
Yang/Nora: Great, now we can kill her/break her legs!_

_Now, that actually is an idea with a lot of potential, still not going to use it here but here are some scenes I thought up while drinking my morning coffee._

_Ruby: *looks out the window and sees the reforming moon* Mooom! Caryll broke the moon again!  
Caryll: *Yells from the distance* Traitor!_

_Yang: *Sees second moon forming* Daad! Caryll is collecting the Tailed Beasts again! *off-screen Tai noises* I know right? He could have at least let me join him like last time!_

_The following events depict the events of The Fall of Beacon, seen through the eyes of Caryll_

_Caryll: *Stands on top of Beacon tower and catches sight of the Wyvern landing before him* Eyesore! Almighty Push!  
*Wyvern proceeds to be repulsed into the Emerald Forest*  
Caryll: It's time to put a collar on you, you filthy beast! Planetary Devastation!  
*Trees, rocks and dirt envelop the screeching dragon. It slowly elevates above the school and forms a miniature moon*  
Caryll: It's time to finish this!  
*Proceeds to drain the life essence of the dragon and uses it to bolster his own Aura reserves. He then projects his Aura in the form of a Grand Wyvern shaped Perfect Susano'o*  
Caryll: Bring me Salem!  
Pyrrha/Cinder/Ozpin/Salem/The entire world watching the broadcast of the Battle of Beacon: 0_0_

_I don't really like messing with time because it can cause a headache if you delve too deep into it._

_Xellios1: That's the million dollar question, yes._

_Strife666: Maybe, if enough people are interested in a ship then I can put up a poll on my profile. Though the question of ships won't be a thing for a good few chapters still._

_Guest: Raven will teach him things, I can say that much._

_Zlash21: No promises, the blood gods require blood! Though maybe Caryll can offer some spilt blood in her place._

_Chinchi37: You're very welcome._

_Until next time._


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the sixth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. I have to say it, I disliked writing this chapter, I don't know why, but it just didn't click well with me. For reference, what you see here is like the fourth iteration of this chapter. I honestly don't know how to improve on it further so I apologize in advance if the chapter is somehow worse than usual. Thankfully I have no such problem with writing the next chapter, which goes rather smoothly, thank the gods._

_**Edited to change mechanics of Semblance and offer a better explanation for it, since the previous one felt flimsy.**_

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. OCs are mine though._

* * *

**Chapter 6: Somnium**

"…In other news, the mysterious disaster that struck the mining settlement of Sateda last week still remains unexplained as search and rescue teams sent by both the SDC and nearby frontier cities struggle to find survivors of the incident," the news anchor stated calmly. I blearily opened my eyes at that, Tai was watching TV last I remembered before taking a nap. I looked around tiredly and saw no sign of him, probably went to work already.

"…Judging by what little evidence remains in the ruins of the once prospering town on the dark continent of Pandyssia experts speculate that the entire underground Dust deposit beneath the mountain had been somehow activated and detonated with a force that destroyed the mountain and the settlement above." I blinked at those words… That's a lot of Dust to set off. "The explosion was powerful enough that minor quakes had been reported in multiple cities along the coast of the northern continent…" Alright, I think that's the closest Remnant will ever get to nuclear weapons in my lifetime.

"…However, experts in the mining industry argue that no simple mining accident could have caused a catastrophe of this scale and that the only way a runaway chain reaction like this could have occurred was by deliberate sabotage by human or Faunus elements. Despite this alarming declaration no terrorist groups have claimed responsibility…" A terrorist attack? So soon? The White Fang hasn't turned mad yet, hell they haven't even formed themselves into a peaceful movement yet. Last I've checked Blake's father, Ghira I believe, only began prying for permits for his peaceful protests from the kingdoms.

"…Perhaps coincidentally, Grimm activity and overall aggressiveness has spiked in the last week all across the southern coast of Pandyssia and the northern coast of Sanus, as reported by Hunters and frontier militia. People outside the walls of the kingdoms are encouraged to stay indoors until this behavior-" I shut off the TV and stretched my arms in satisfaction. I swear people in this world talk about the Grimm like a weather forecast.

'In the western regions there is a 95% chance of encountering a flock of Nevermores, so I personally advise taking a loaded shotgun with you before dropping off the kids at daycare.'

I chuckled and hopped to my feet. Hearing a bit of a ruckus from the kitchen I moved to investigate and found myself smiling at the scene. Poor Summer was currently feeding a baby Ruby while a little yellow blur sped around the kitchen, pestering her mother to play with her. A single look at Summer's despaired face was all it took for me to snicker to myself, oh I sympathized with her, but she was the one who wanted to know how she would fare with regular children. Summer raised her head at the noise and sent me a begging look that basically said 'help'.

"Hey Yang, want to go on an adventure with me?" I rolled my eyes, but called out regardless. The yellow blur suddenly stopped and the small form of a three year old Yang materialized before me.

"'Ryl!" She greeted happily and was about to try and tackle me but stopped when she realized what I had said. "Adventure!" Her lilac eyes widened in excitement.

"Yes, but only if you promise to be a good girl," I tried my best at making a stern expression, it seemed to be working as she nodded rapidly and cried out a quick "I promise!"

"Mhmm, okay then, put away your toys and we can head out." I ruffled her hair and she ran to her room with an energy only a little kid could muster.

"Thanks for that," Summer said appreciatively, now finishing up with Ruby. "I love them both with all my heart but they can be a bit of a handful sometimes," She sighed as she searched for a piece of cloth so she could barf Ruby.

"It's no problem, I could never say no to Yang and I'm sure it will be the same with Ruby," I shrugged. "I was thinking on taking Yang on a little treasure hunt to our old house." We had moved to the Xiao-Long household a while back when Summer and Tai got together. Our old house just gathers dust nowadays with nobody living in it, only I visit it semi-often, and that's only because I refuse to move my workshop over here. It's safer this way with all the Dust and weaponry there.

And most importantly relocating the entire workshop would be seriously tiresome.

"I know you can take care of yourself but don't be afraid to call me if something happens," she sent me a look that only a concerned mother could replicate.

"Sure, I'll take my weapons too just to be safe," I placated while rolling my eyes. Honestly, nowadays I could slap around Beowolves without any weapons, the only thing that could give me somewhat of a challenge on Patch was an Ursa Major. But even they were nothing but an annoyance with a well-aimed Inferno knife.

Not to mention my eyes. Even if some Beowolf managed to sneak up on us I could just glance at it and it would turn into ash.

I waved in goodbye and grabbed a jar of cookies on my way out, a treasure hunt needs treasure after all. I put on my armguards and my satchel bag and walked outside to wait for Yang. Sure enough, I didn't need to wait a minute for the little firefly to burst out of the house.

"Adventure! Adventure!" She jumped in place in excitement, I smiled amusedly, maybe I've been telling her too many Indiana Jones stories, the children versions of course.

"Listen closely Yang." I knelt before her with a mock serious expression, not that she could recognize that. "There is a legend about a treasure hidden in this forest by brave Hunters of old." Yang gasped at that while mouthing 'treasure'. "Fortunately, I've figured out where it is, but I need your help to get it. What do you say, do you want to help me?" I smiled knowingly at her excited expression.

"Yes! Yes! Let's go!" She nodded impatiently, I chuckled and smiled mischievously as a thought occurred to me. I turned around on my knees and looked over my shoulder.

"Hop on then, we must be quick to get it or others will steal our treasure." She agreed readily and got on my back. I stood up and checked my grip on her legs to make sure she wouldn't fall off.

"Alright, here we go!" I yelled and jumped up onto the thicker branches of the larger trees. I seriously loved this forest and its giant trees. Yang cried out in surprise at first but quickly got used to hopping from tree to tree or rock to rock, and judging by the delighted laughter I heard from her, she was having a blast with piggy-backing at high speeds.

Normally our old house would be about 30 minutes away by foot, but at the speeds we were going it would take us only 5 minutes at most.

I wasn't careless though, the TV said that there has been an increase in Grimm activity lately. Because of this I was actively scanning the surrounding forest around us with shining eyes. I've seen nothing apart from wildlife so far, so I was optimistic that our little outing wouldn't be interrupted by soon-to-be clouds of ash.

* * *

"I've found it 'Ryl!" Yang declared triumphantly as she ran out of the house with the jar of cookies above her head. I had to distract her for a few minutes when we first arrived so that I could place the 'treasure' but it all turned out well in the end.

And it only took her two hours of searching, with role play and puzzles of course, floor became lava, stone tiles became pressure plates for traps and so on. It was fun I had to admit, but most importantly it seemed to sap some of Yang's seemingly endless energy.

"Great! Do you want to eat it here or do you want to show it to Mom first?" I smiled at her and ruffled her hair.

"I want to show it to Mommy first!" She said with an adorable thinking expression on her face.

"Alright-" my Aura's sixth sense screamed at me and I didn't hesitate to grab Yang and jump away. Not a moment later a jet of flames passed through the spot we were on. We landed a few meters away with me still holding a very confused Yang. I looked back and saw the ceramic jar melting in the fire, I frowned but widened my eyes in realization as I heard the flapping of wings, giant wings.

I looked up and saw a giant black creature descending towards us from the sky. It landed on the roof of the house and snarled at us.

That thing shouldn't even be near Patch.

A Wyvern.

A newborn from the looks of it, but it was still as long as a school bus and probably strong enough to tear through solid concrete like wet tissue paper. It looked much like its larger cousin at Mountain Glenn, just scaled down a few orders of magnitude in size. This could be bad, Wyverns weren't one of your run of the mill lower level Grimm. They scaled more to mid-high level rather, a newborn like this could take on any first or second year in any Academy and come out on top. And I didn't see it because I didn't care to check upwards, stupid!

Scorching flames licked its maw as it prepared to launch another pillar of flames at us, but I was faster and released my own white flames from my eyes. I was training more and more with my eyes to lessen the strain they put me under. Lately I could even adjust the intensity of the blast to better manage my stamina.

…

I blinked away the brightness from my eyes and was greeted with the petrified visage of the dragon on our roof.

"What was that 'Ryl?" Yang asked quietly from behind me.

"Nothing, let's just get back-…" I trailed off as I could make out small cracks forming on the surface of the stone statue.

That could… complicate things.

A cold pit formed in my stomach as I realized what that meant, my eyes were too weak to kill it. Fire erupted from its maw and broke the stony shell around its head. One of its wings broke free next and the created imbalance sent the dragon falling off the roof and into the ground, where its shell shattered completely.

"Yang, listen closely…" I stared at the disoriented dragon while formulating some kind of plan to survive this encounter "Get down to the basement and do not, under any circumstance come out" Homes on Remnant had a basement specifically for these kinds of situations, though I doubt it would hinder the dragon for long. Another option would be sending Yang running into the forest while I distracted it, but my knowledge on Grimm told me that lower level Grimm are attracted to higher one like bears to honey, meaning that there could be a pack of Beowolves out there right now watching this whole showdown.

"Do you understand?" I whispered forcefully when Yang continued to stand behind me like a frozen statue. She jumped in place but a reassuring squeeze on her arm was enough to send her running towards the front door.

A jet of flames almost consumed her but a throwing knife with Earth Dust in it impacted the ground beside her before the wall of fire could hit her. The large slab of stone deflected the fire to the side and Yang disappeared into the house. The dragon turned its large head at me and stared me down with eyes filled with unbridled killing intent. I stared back with just as much intensity as I moved to take out three knives in my right hand and two vials in my left hand.

Flames licked the side of its face and I narrowed my eyes. It released a torrent of flames and I threw the knives high up into the wall while tossing a vial before my feet. A stone wall rose before me and blocked all flames, but my Aura told me that it wasn't over.

I dropped the other vial at my feet and used my armguard to fly to the knives imbedded in the wall. A blink of an eye later my impromptu stone wall got demolished when the Wyvern's head broke through it and snapped at the location I was at before moving. It growled when it realized it only bit dirt and tried to spit everything out.

A little too late.

The vial of Ice Dust detonated inside its maw and encased its entire head in cold ice. At this time I reached the wall and used the Gravity Dust in them to effectively wall run past the creature while taking out my scroll.

I was not delusional, if I fought this thing right now I would die, plain and simple. It was too fast for me to outrun, too strong and durable for me to hurt it and too clever for me to just outsmart on the fly. Not to mention I would have to plan with Yang in mind, fighting one on one is one thing, fighting while worrying about someone else is an entirely different topic altogether. I needed Summer's help for this, she could deal with the Wyvern no problem.

"Come on… Pick it up," I muttered as I threw an Inferno knife at the dragon's back. It exploded violently but had little effect on the thick hide of the Grimm. I landed behind the dragon and called back all three knives to me.

"Finally!" I exclaimed as I saw her on the line. "Can't talk for long. Big Wyvern. Old house. Me and Yang. Big trouble. Come as soon as you can!" I listed quickly.

"-Got it! I'll be there in a minute-!" I ended the call and pocketed my scroll, normally I would be skeptical about someone promising to be somewhere in a single minute, but Summer was one of the fastest Huntresses on Remnant. If she said one minute, you could bet your life it will be one minute.

The Wyvern freed its head by flash-melting and evaporating the ice encasing it and roared in rage.

…From the looks of it I'll be doing just that now.

I immediately had to jump over a low sweep of its massive tail and was promptly swatted through a window by the follow up of its wing-arm. I impacted the fireplace on the far side of the living room and left a spider web of cracks in the bricks before falling to the floor. I coughed in pain and staggered to my feet. I squinted at the window and widened my eyes in surprise as I saw the Wyvern's head in the window, ready to unleash hell upon me. Without thinking I flashed my eyes without putting much effort behind it. It seemed to do the trick as the dragon recoiled in pain.

Not wasting the opportunity, I sprinted out of the living room and onto the corridor, immediately after that the Grimm bulldozed through the wall and torched the room. I took out a vial of Earth Dust and threw it at the doorway behind me to delay the flames and ran up the stairs.

I arrived upstairs and threw four Gravity knives at the ceiling of the corridor that led above the living room. I jumped and turned upside down midair to run on the ceiling. It seemed my quick thinking wasn't for naught as the dragon broke through the floor and sent a torrent of flames down the corridor below me. I retaliated by throwing a Lightning knife at its stupid face.

The knife lodged itself into one of its many eyes and detonated in a shower of sparks and arcing electricity, sending the dragon screeching down below. Meanwhile I arrived at the end of the now definitely burning corridor and jumped out of the window. I landed on the hard ground somewhat ungracefully and took a breather

20 seconds.

That whole exchange took 20 seconds and had I done anything different I could have been killed or seriously injured at least twice.

I need to even the odds a bit.

As I thought that the Wyvern broke through the roof and roared madly. It flapped its wings and sent a huge gust of wind at me that sent me flying into a tree behind me and left me open for the enormous fireball that followed up. I was forced to take the hit and I could feel my Aura struggle to defend me from the heat.

The explosion sent me flying to the side and through a wooden wall and into a desk. I grunted in pain and pulled myself up, that attack left me with barely half of my reserves if I were to guess. I blinked with my shining eyes and saw the Wyvern trying to get out of the house to finish me off.

Wait, that means…

I looked around myself and found that I was in the workshop, my eyes landed on one particular object and a plan formed in my head.

I grabbed a vial of Gravity Dust from my satchel and crushed it in my hand. My Aura protected me from the shards and allowed me to manipulate the powder in my hand. I turned to the wall I flew through beforehand and released a wave of violet energy at it. The wall was blasted outwards and provided me with a clear line of sight to the Wyvern. It roared at me, while I took out eight knives with violet and bright red crystals in them. Flames gathered in the Grimm's mouth to likely finish me off while I smiled in return, it was time to enact my grand master plan.

I released the enormous pressure I've been building up behind my eyes and the world went white.

…

I fell to a knee and panted heavily after regaining my vision, that blast took almost everything I had, hopefully it will be enough. I looked up and saw the petrified dragon slowly freeing itself from its rocky prison. I frowned tiredly, having hoped that that would be enough before throwing four knives at the safe in the corner of the room.

The Aura enhanced knives dug deep into the metal and I threw the other four at the wall in the opposite direction to anchor me down. I ordered the knives to come back to me but only the first set budged, straining in effort, but succeeding to yank the safe in my direction.

I crushed another Gravity Dust vial in my hand and released the energy in it by punching the safe in the direction of the now half-free Wyvern. It spun in the air for a few moments before I sent the mental command for the Inferno knives to explode.

The intense heat and pressure caused the steel to melt and crumble, causing the stored Dust crystals, arrows, rounds, knives and vials to go critical.

An explosion of all elements the size of what one would expect from a satchel charge of C4 knocked me on my back and left my ears ringing. I almost blacked out but somehow managed to remain conscientious. I slowly got to my feet by using a destroyed cabinet as leverage and took in the damage I've caused.

The Wyvern was nowhere to be found, probably died from the explosion and then disintegrated

Good riddance, I say.

The house looked like hell, a few rooms were wiped from existence while the entire roof was on fire. Lightning danced in the air around the epicenter of the explosion while I could make out storm clouds raining ice in the kitchen.

Oh, I think I also just started a forest fire-

Yang!

I staggered hurriedly into the open with a concerned expression. Yang was in a burning building that could collapse any minute, I had to get her out of there-!

As soon as I said that a gigantic tail slapped me across the face and sent me sprawling to the ground. I winced and tried to get up but I felt something huge stepping on my right arm. I gasped and tried to break free but it wouldn't budge. I desperately looked up and my expression soured instantly.

"Why won't you die already?!" I shouted in frustration at the nigh-mortally wounded Wyvern. Its entire right wing-arm was missing and black ichor leaked from its many wounds. It was pinning me down with its remaining wing-arm and looked really, really pissed.

I took out a Lightning knife from my satchel and stabbed its arm repeatedly in an effort to have it let me go, but it didn't seem to care in the slightest. It opened its giant maw and I could enjoy the sight of rows upon rows of wickedly sharp teeth. I redoubled my efforts in stabbing as I saw flames gathering in the back of its throat.

It didn't work. It didn't care. I pulled out the knife and let it fall to the ground while sighing to myself. My Aura was around one thirds at the moment, I wouldn't survive a point-blank attack of that magnitude.

I guess this is it then…

It was a fun life, a tiring one but I wouldn't have it any other way. I got to know amazing and… less so amazing people, but it was worth it. My only regret is leaving so soon.

At least I'll have some good memories to dream about when I return to rest.

I closed my eyes in anticipation and waited. Funnily enough my Aura was still calm as ever, it flowed through my body like always, unconcerned with the events of the outside world. Who knows, maybe I'll figure out why my Aura is like that in the afterlife, I get to keep my soul in the afterlife after all.

…

…

"'Ryl! Mommy!" I snapped open my eyes at hearing Yang's voice. I managed to spot her near the front door after a second of frantic searching. What was she doing?! She'll just paint a target on herself by shouting! Why did she leave the basement?! I looked back up at the Wyvern and saw that it was only a second away from releasing its lethal attack.

No! If I die now she'll be next!

At that moment before certain death, when I heard Yang's fearful cries and contemplated on my eternal rest I felt my Aura do something that it had never even attempted before.

When I first unlocked my Aura, I used an imaginary hand to imitate the airiness of my Aura and drag it out. It worked and I remember it filling every pore of my body with the precision of a surgeon. I felt my body anchoring my awakened Aura to me, not allowing it to disappear on its own to Gods know where. Now, I felt like the roles have been reversed and my Aura was holding onto my body instead.

The Wyvern let go of its built up flames and I flinched away.

…

…

I open my eyes, expecting the infinite darkness to return only to stare in shock at the similarly confused visage of the Wyvern.

What?

It spat fire at me again and I found myself in a dimly lit infinite expanse of rectangular shapes.

What the hell?

As fast as it came the strange scenery disappeared and I found myself looking at the Grimm again.

I don't understand…

The dragon roared loudly and tried to tear me apart with its teeth, but I didn't feel anything. I looked around confusedly and saw the Wyvern trying to bite open my stomach, it would bite it and lift its head, only for my stomach to reappear unharmed. I then looked at my right arm and my eyes became saucers; my arm has been cut off! But wait a minute, I could still move my fingers on my right hand?

What the hell is going on?!

…

…

…

Oh… Ohh!

My eyes widened in realization and in glee. I looked back up at the still trashing creature and flashed it a brilliant smile before sinking through the ground.

As expected I once again arrived into this strange place… or I guess I should call it my Time-Space from now on. I stood up from the ground and laughed out loud. Who would have guessed that my Semblance would be the infamous Kamui?

I can't wait to show it to Summer and play with Yang- I have to save her! Now that I was technically in an entirely different dimension altogether the only other target for the Wyvern was Yang.

With that sobering thought I jumped upwards and reappeared in the real world. I shut off the weird feeling in my Aura, presumably deactivating Kamui, and landed before the Grimm and slashed a Lightning knife at its eyes. It snarled and slashed with its remaining claws at me…

…Only for it to pass right through me. The sixth sense granted by Aura combined with Kamui means nearly unparalleled reaction times. A vicious smirk spread across my face as I began to plot the Wyvern's demise.

I took a step forward, only to fall to a knee as crippling pain erupted from my eyes. I clutched at my face in agony as my eyes felt ready to explode. Urgh, what is this?! I thought I would be untouchable while using Kamui?!

The Grimm stopped attacking me and regarded me curiously. Meanwhile my pain didn't stop… It worsened, I forced one eye open and gasped in both pain and shock at what I was seeing.

Or rather what I wasn't seeing…

My vision is already degrading… But this is too soon for that and my Aura should heal any damage, why am I going blind?! I had to test this, I slashed at my arm lightly with the same knife, sans the lightning.

My Aura flared protectively, making me even more confused as to what was happening.

The Grimm dragon seemed to grunt at me dismissively, as if it realized that there was no point in trying to attack me, and turned to look at the burning house, or more specifically, Yang.

"Oh, no, don't you dare" I said through gritted teeth. To my horror it roared loudly and advanced towards her. Yang panicked and ran deeper inside the house. I snarled and prepared to flash my eyes at the creature but a piercing pain from the back of my eyes stopped me and made me want to tear them out myself. After my failed attempt something wet started flowing down my face and I could taste blood on my lips. First my sight, then my Aura and now my eyes are malfunctioning? What is going on here?

Wait… Maria couldn't use her eyes because she was blind…

Please don't be true…

I opened my eyes and saw… nothing. Only pure darkness.

I was blind. 'Overuse' of Kamui blinded me yet I could still feel my Aura yearning to take my body to my Time-Space.

This can't be… I have to save Yang…

I activated my eyes and the world lit up in familiar diluted colors and transparent shapes, at least I still have this. I looked around desperately and saw the small, golden form of Yang huddling in the corner of the basement while the dragon tried to barge through. To my horror it broke through and growled loudly at her crying form.

"Caryll! What is happening? Where is Yang?" Summer panted as she appeared beside me. I paid her no mind as I was captivated by the sight of the dragon attacking Yang.

"No!" My vision warped and I appeared inside the Kamui dimension in an instant. My brain went on auto pilot and immediately opened another portal back to the real world. I reappeared in the basement, just between Yang and the Wyvern. Just before it struck I managed to lay my palm on its snout

"Disappear!"

Reality warped around my right eye and countless wisps of space coalesced into an intangible vortex that sucked in everything before me. The Wyvern screeched as its body was elongated and sucked into the Kamui dimension. Bricks, old documents, earth and air followed it through for several seconds before it suddenly cut off.

I panted in exhaustion and felt my Aura shatter around me before exhaustion took over. I felt my eyes rolling back in my head and I collapsed on the spot.

* * *

I reawakened hours later in a hospital in Vale. Summer managed to drag me and Yang out of the burning house and called the 911 equivalent on Remnant. A Grimm attack, two possibly injured children and a forest fire can't exactly be not reported in after all.

I was ecstatic when I opened my eyes the first time, my vision returned fully, thank the Gods. I was visited by multiple people during the day while I was tied to a hospital bed, and I will still be tied to until tomorrow morning, Tai and Qrow came around and congratulated me on finding my Semblance, though they had to leave early, because they volunteered to take care of Ruby instead of Summer, so she could spend time with me and Yang.

It was evening now and Yang insisted to sleep with me because I quote 'you can make monsters go away'. We couldn't really argue with that logic so we let her sleep next to me in the hospital bed.

Summer was understandably worried, but I deflected most of it to Yang, she was the child in the situation after all.

All this time also let me ponder on my weird situation with my Semblance. After some limited practice and thinking I came to the conclusion that it wasn't the original ability that I was familiar with, since I could use it even after going blind.

And there was that too, why did I go blind in the first place?

Hours of intense internal debate left me with a possible, yet annoying explanation. Most, if not all Semblances had some form of drawback to them; Emerald could only focus on a single person at a time or risk serious backlash, Yang's Semblance allowed her to easily lose herself in her emotions, Qrow's Semblance while powerful in its own right didn't need any explanation, etc. etc. These drawbacks ranged from small to large things, but there was a subtle trend that I've noticed.

The stronger the Semblance, the bigger the drawback.

Even as limited as my own version was, it was still very powerful compared to other Semblances if used correctly. Powerful enough to take a toll on my fragile body. Some Semblances focus around a particular feature of an individual like the legs, arms or in my case, my eyes. Annoyingly, my Semblance is very Aura costly, back in the forest I've only used it for fifteen seconds maximum and opened two portals with it, and that was enough to completely drain me of Aura.

All of that energy being channeled and burned away so fast in so small of a volume was physically straining and painful, almost as painful as my first death was.

Aura could heal the damage afterwards, I've come to realize, but not during use. In fact, focusing more Aura in the area only made things worse. The pain from the physical degradation also prevented me from using my eyes, since Silver Eyes required a level of focus that was simply impossible for me to achieve in that state.

…Still, I'm happy with my Semblance. It's complicated as hell and tiresome to plan around, but not even a nuke to my face could scratch me while it's active.

"Caryll Rose?" I heard someone speaking from the doorway, I lifted up my head and sighed internally.

"That would be me," I replied form the bed, visiting hours were almost over so I hoped this would be quick. Ozpin, in all his millennia old glory, was the one who decided to pay me a visit at this late hour. He hummed in acknowledgement and walked casually up to the end of the bed. He squinted at me for a second before speaking up.

"You have… silver eyes," he observed curiously.

"Yes, I do," I replied in an even tone, it was time to have this conversation. "How may I help you, sir?" I asked back amiably. Ozpin blinked at my quick answer before collecting himself and raising an eyebrow.

"I'm Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy," he introduced himself. "I was visiting a recovering friend of mine when I ran into your mother, she told me about the incident that occurred," he explained and took a sip from a- when did he get that mug?

"Oh, mom mentioned you before. You're her boss, right?" My face scrunched up into what I hoped would be a thinking expression. So, Summer told him about me? I guess I can't blame her, this incident was a bit too big to sweep under the rug.

"In a manner of speaking, yes, though it would be more accurate to say that I provide her with missions from time to time," he chuckled goodheartedly. "Anyway, I just wished to check up on a promising Hunter-in-training… I can imagine how hard it must have been to go through all that." His eyes took on a concerned look. I internally smiled at seeing that, the first comment of me being labeled as a future Hunter didn't slip by my ears, but I chose to ignore it and focus on the genuine concern in his voice. It was nice to hear that he still cared about children who lived through what could very well be a traumatic event.

"I'm fine… I'm just concerned about her," I nodded towards Yang's sleeping form. Death didn't faze me, the same couldn't be said about the rest of humanity and Faunuskind. The only thing nowadays that could truly make me scared was loss… loss of what I held dear.

"I've heard about what you did to make sure she was safe." Ozpin sat down on a nearby chair. "I must admit that few of my students show the same protective spirit you possess, even fewer who could have defeated a foe like the one you fought," he praised, which caused me to frown internally. What was he getting at? I'm too young to be recruited.

"Family is one of things I hold dear in this world, there is nothing I wouldn't do to see them safe," I stated seriously while sending a steely look at him.

"Well spoken-" he began to say, but I cut him off, "If it means I have to shine my eyes until I collapse to my knees and cry blood, then so be it." I showed you my hand old man, it's your turn now. Ozpin froze in his seat with his mug stuck to his lips. He stared at me with wide eyes for what seemed like minutes until the tension finally left his body.

"Summer helped you awaken your eyes so soon?" He finally asked at my open admission.

"I figured it out on my own, actually," I stated matter of factly.

"On your own?" Ozpin inquired with an incredulous expression.

"Hmm, I'm what people would call an old soul, I'm sure you can relate, Oz." I looked at him pointedly, waiting for him to get the hint. Ozpin frowned in confusion for a minute before his own eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh, I see… How old if I may ask?" He replied knowingly.

"Sometimes I feel like I have a lifetime of experience to draw from," I answered honestly, there was no benefit in hiding from Ozpin. If I didn't come out as another reincarnate he would continue treating me as a malleable child and try to manipulate me into attending Beacon in the coming years and would just try to groom me to be the next generation's Summer. He saw talent in Ruby and enrolled her when she was only fifteen, I'm sure that with my prodigal talent that overshadowed people a decade my senior Ozpin would try to enlist me when I turned thirteen, hell if he knew just how good I was he would probably try to change the minimum enrollment age for Hunter schools. By coming out now I could establish our relationship for what it will be, distant allies against a common foe, nothing more.

He was about to speak up when his eyes moved to look beside me. I raised an eyebrow but remembered that we weren't alone.

"I know you're awake, Yang," I whispered into her ear before mercilessly tickling her. It seemed to do the trick and flushed out the tiny eavesdropper, she giggled uncontrollably until I decided that she suffered enough and just trapped her in an affectionate hug.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked knowingly, ever since I was reborn I basically conditioned myself to not fear death, so I wasn't scared for myself at all during the encounter. Humans have a deeply ingrained fear of death and of the unknown. Having experienced the other side made me realize that it was nothing to be afraid of, I would be upset if I died of course, but not much else. Yang on the other hand was just a child now, this event could very well scar her… I sincerely hoped that wasn't the case, Gods know she will face enough hardships in the future.

"Mhmm, bad dreams," Yang murmured sleepily. I rested my cheek on the top of her head and hummed knowingly.

"Do you like fairy tales? I've found that they can chase away the bad dreams," Ozpin asked kindly while looking at Yang, though I could see him watching me from the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah, 'Ryl and Daddy tell the best tales!" Yang perked up at the mention of possible bed time stories.

"I personally never held too much interest in them," I began carefully, I knew what Ozpin was getting at, but with the presence of Yang we had to choose our words carefully, who knows what a toddler could remember randomly. "They always gave me the feeling of being stuck in the past and never being able to move on… Though I remember a few that did catch my interest," I nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh? And what were those stories?" Ozpin leaned a bit forward interestedly.

"The story of the Seasons, the girl in the tower and another… much older fable that has been lost to time, though I never heard how it ends… I look forward to hearing it someday," I smiled wistfully. "But no, what fascinated me always were dreams, of the future in particular," I elaborated.

"Interesting, what do you dream of?" He looked a bit put off by my definite dismissal but remained interested all the same.

"… A safer world for all, a world where two children could play like they are supposed to without having to worry for their life." I frowned deeply at the memory. Ozpin stared at me for a minute with an expression that was hard for me to read before speaking up again.

"…You remind me of someone I've met a long time ago. His eyes were of the same brilliant silver color like yours and he was always enraptured in his… dreams of the future," he told me reminiscently.

"Who was he?" I raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Tell me, have you ever heard of the First Hunters?" Ozpin turned to look at Yang as well, who was captivated by our conversation.

"No, 'Ryl never tells me stories of Hunters and Huntresses," she pouted adorably. I had a good reason for that actually, a good portion of them didn't end well and I thought she would appreciate The Lion King more.

She did.

"I mean, I knew they had to have existed, but I never heard anything about them…" I frowned in thought at that. Why didn't I hear about them actually? You would think the first generation of a great line of heroes would be well known, but that weirdly wasn't the case…

"Then may I interest you with an old legend?" I nodded absently and allowed Yang to sit up beside me.

"Our story begins right after the Great War that left our beautiful world in ruins and cast deep in darkness. To combat the forces of darkness and allow people to rebuild what was lost the kingdoms came together and created the first Huntsman Academies. It was in one of these Academies, the Academy of Shade to be precise, where the first team of Hunters graduated in a single year." A single year? How is that even possible?

"Back then people didn't know what to think of Hunters as there was no precedent to base their character off of. That changed when Team ASHE was assigned the first ever sanctioned mission as their mid-semester task." He stopped to take a sip from his mug.

"Their original mission was to help defend the coastal city of Karnacca on the northern shore of Vacuo against a small incursion of Grimm. However, it quickly became apparent that they got tangled up in something infinitely larger than themselves, for it was no simple Grimm that set its sight on Karnacca, but the Titan Apophis, The World Eater." My eyes bulged out at that. I read about that Titan in a Grimm bestiary, it was one of the largest and most dangerous Titans ever recorded. With the length of a kilometer and the legends of it destroying several smaller kingdoms over its eon long lifetime it isn't hard to imagine why the serpent gained its deadly reputation as the bringer of darkness.

"A general evacuation was ordered in the city, but it was clear the giant serpent would devour everything before even a single boat could leave the shores. It was then when Team ASHE did the unthinkable. Where any other person would have run for their lives they took it upon themselves to cover the evacuation by facing the Titan themselves. What was an even greater shock to the world was that after a battle that lasted an entire day, the serpent was nigh-mortally wounded and was banished back into the depths of the Vacuan deserts where it resides even today." I listened with gob smacked expression on my face.

…A group of first years defeated one of the greatest Titans to ever walk the face of Remnant on their first mission. Just how good were they?

"For their efforts in not only protecting the citizens of Karnacca but also saving the entire city as well, they received the title of The First Hunters. However, what's more important is on that day they laid the foundation of what a Hunter is supposed to be. Someone who wouldn't hesitate to forfeit their own lives to protect the citizens of Remnant against the darkness present on our world"

"After an early graduation they split up and travelled all over Remnant in an effort to make their dreams of a safer future come true. During their journeys they helped the kingdoms reclaim most of the territories lost to the Grimm during the war and shape the image of how Hunters were viewed for generations." His tone got a bit melancholic at the end. Meanwhile I struggled with the idea that four people managed to not only halt the tide of Grimm all over Remnant, but turned the tables and forced them back, when nowadays thousands of Hunters struggled to even do the former.

"Professor… Just how strong were they?" I managed to get out, still baffled at the implications. Just when they were first years they could go toe to toe with a Titan… How powerful were they in their prime?

"In their glory days all of them could take on almost any Grimm on their lonesome, but when they fought together as a team they could overcome any obstacle… I'm sure if they were to suddenly appear back in the Great War they could significantly tip the balance of power to either side's favor." He didn't even hesitate when he said that, he was dead serious. I can't even imagine what fighting those people would be like… But wait a minute…

"I'm sorry Professor but if they were so powerful and famous why haven't I heard of them before? I mean if they were so influential in Hunter culture then why does nobody seem to talk about them?" I scowled deeply, it simply didn't make sense.

"Unfortunately, not all stories have a happy ending," Ozpin sighed sadly. "Teams ASHE's leader, Arren Gehrman, the man I said you reminded me of, is somewhat of a black spot on Hunter history." His expression became a bit tired. "Everything was going well for Team ASHE until one day they went on an important mission together. Normally even two of them together would have been what you could call 'overkill' for a mission… but something happened during that mission and none of them came back from it. They went missing and after a few months they were declared killed in action," he said somberly. "Everyone was shocked but didn't know where to even begin investigating their strange disappearance… until five years later, when Gehrman resurfaced, but he had changed," he shook his head slowly.

"He first appeared in Haven Academy where he killed the Headmaster and the teachers before laying ruin to the Academy itself… He declared the system of Hunters obsolete and sought to destroy it in its entirety. He turned his back on the very system he helped design and declared war on it… thus the First Hunter in history also became the first rogue Hunter." I decided to cover Yang's ears now as I sincerely doubted that this story would have any sort of happy ending.

"Nobody knows why he did what he did for sure, the most popular theory is that he was possessed by a rare Grimm that specialized in mind manipulation, but witnesses reported that his once brilliant silver eyes appeared to have gained a sickly purple tinge to them." That's… worrying, was that some sort of corruption perhaps?

"But… You said that he was too powerful to handle? Hunters and Huntresses still exist today so what happened to him?" I asked confusedly, those people were monsters… but then again, his teammates were presumably killed, that just begs the question…

What was strong enough to take on all four of them at once and win? Was it Salem herself or someone else?

"Have you heard about the last king of Vale?" Ozpin asked me in return, to which I nodded.

"Right, he was the person who ended the Great War by decimating the enemy's forces during the last battle." I remembered this from the World of Remnant episode, he used the relics to defeat the entire army. It was probably Ozpin of I were to guess. Ozpin nodded and continued the story.

"Gehrman's crusade eventually led him to where his journey began, Shade Academy. There he met Osborne, the last king of Vale. Osborne couldn't sit by idly and watch as the peaceful world he worked so hard for crumbled and so challenged Gehrman with only his scepter and sword, Gehrman accepted and they dueled in the surrounding desert," Ozpin told tiredly, now I was sure he was that king, that name is just a dead giveaway.

"The First Hunter against The Last King," I murmured to myself, that must have been a sight to see, a Hunter of unapparelled skill against an immortal wizard. "Who won the duel?" I asked curiously.

"Nobody knows, as none of them ever came back and the site of their battle is obscured by a violet firestorm to this day," he shrugged.

"A firestorm? They created a perpetual Dust storm?" It was possible to manipulate weather by exposing large quantities of Dust to the elements. People learned that the hard way when they tried to create Remnant's first open-air Dust mine.

"There is no known Dust type that burns with such intensity. The storm turns everything it touches to ash, be it human or otherwise," he shook his head.

"A Semblance then?" I theorized out loudly but Ozpin shook his head again.

"There are no traces of Aura in the storm as the flames consume that as well." …A fire that burns souls, if that isn't literal hellfire then I don't know what is… Well, Oz did use the Relic of Destruction in that battle, that's probably capable of something like that. I finally let go of a thoroughly irritated Yang and let her punch me lightly in the shoulder.

"'Ryl I missed the story!" She huffed but didn't resist when I ruffled her hair.

"I fail to see the moral of the story," I turned to Ozpin with a raised eyebrow.

"Some stories don't have a clear message to them… but if you were to ask an old man like me I would say that it's important to not lose sight of what drives us," he looked pointedly at Yang. "Or our dearest dreams may become our worst nightmares," he looked back at me with an expectant expression. I nodded slowly in acknowledgement.

Don't go rogue on Remnant or you'll kill me yourself, got it Oz.

We sat in silence for a moment before a stray thought occurred to me.

"Professor, if I may ask, what was Gehrman's Semblance?" I tilted my head curiously.

"Nobody knows as he never claimed to have found it himself," Ozpin shrugged.

"Then do you think-?" I began to ask hesitantly but Ozpin cut me off, "I agree with your assessment that some stories should be left well enough alone in the past," he told me resolutely. I stared at him with a surprised expression before slowly nodding in agreement.

"But never mind that, visiting hours are over and I must take my leave. It was a pleasure meeting you two." He got up from his chair and nodded at us. "Thank you for telling an old man about your dream, Mr. Rose. The last time I've heard that very same dream, I got to witness the beginning of a new golden age. I have no doubt that you will surpass the Hunters of old if you continue on your current path." With that he left us alone to ponder on his words.

I turned to a confused looking Yang and decided to borrow a phrase she would use later in her life.

"Well, that was a thing." I muttered quietly.

* * *

_Mysterious accident is mysterious._

_Caryll being a responsible and cool older brother just warms my heart._

_I hoped you liked the fight, truthfully that was the thing that gave me my migraine. I wanted to showcase how skilled Caryll is while also showing that his Silver Eyes are just another tool in his arsenal, not his trump card for everything he may encounter._

_Then there was the problem of creating tension by making him try everything to defeat the Wyvern and still failing, thus forcing him to awaken his Semblance… and then there goes the reveal which made me want to tear my hair out, seriously I had a much better time writing him awakening his eyes, which arguably should be harder for him._

_Guest: *ding-ding-ding* we have a winner. Prepare to receive an imaginary jar of cookies._

_Caryll's Semblance is a slightly modified version of Obito Uchiha's Kamui (the right eye) from the Naruto franchise, modified to fit into RWBY. Now before someone scolds me for not putting this story in the crossover section, let me state that while I may borrow some names and themes from other media this story is still 95% RWBY. Almost anything I write in this story could be also explained in the main show or other fanfics (that I will ask permission for and give credit to if I ever decide to use something from them)._

_Now, for those who don't know what Kamui is, I highly suggest watching Swagkage's video on the topic titled Explaining Kamui. For those who want the in-a-nutshell explanation, the right eye of Kamui allows the user to teleport parts of their body to a linked pocket dimension, thus granting the user practical intangibility (I have no idea how the biology of that works, but it apparently does)._

_This does not mean Caryll has a Sharingan, he still has his normal eyes, the only reason his vision worsens is because his childish body can't handle the strain it puts him under._

_It should also be said that Kamui is arguably the best utility ability in any anime/manga, so I had to nerf it for now if I wanted to retain tension in the story, because let's face it, if I were to just leave it as is, Caryll would be broken. He would stomp anyone on Remnant into the ground without question._

_Firstly, I've only given him the right eye. Both eyes are powerful on their own right but brought together they are literally god-tier. I mean in Naruto Shippuden while every other character was fighting across dimensions against literal gods Obito and Kakashi still managed to remain relevant and useful while only having Kamui at their disposal._

_Secondly, no SE and Kamui at once; I think I provided a believable explanation for that._

_Thirdly, blindness and pain. Caryll will just have to get used to that._

_And lastly ridiculous Aura cost. This is another modification to help Kamui fit into RWBY 'power levels'. At this point Caryll at full reserves could do it for a single minute at best._

_The other points Caryll brought up like limb focused Semblances and weaknesses/limitations are canon. For example, Elm's Semblance only manifests on her feet and Marrow must remain still to use his._

_These limitations can be overcome with time and effort, but Caryll won't have it easy for a long while. He will reach his full potential with Kamui, but don't expect it to happen this soon into the story._

_Any other subtle/obvious references (names, characters and such) to other media are just call-outs. They share almost nothing with their out-of-universe counterparts unless I deliberately state otherwise._

_Moving on, I was pleasantly surprised when I had to write the interaction between Ozpin and Caryll._

_Caryll: *Sips tea* Would you kindly fuck off?_

_Ozpin: Of course, my good sir, I'll be gone in an instant. I just wanted to interest you in a bit of plot development._

_Caryll: Hmm, I suppose I may indulge in a bit of exposition…_

_**Reviews:**_

_merendinoemiliano: In canon Pyrrha said that they don't have souls, so I just went along with it, but ultimately it makes no difference in the story if they are or if they aren't soulless._

_Lord-Azrael3:*TRP looks at camera* Not gonna lie, they had us in the first half._

_But yeah, I could imagine that interaction between them, minus the R rated Raven of course, lol *turns to my brother who's a law student and whispers into his ear* Is that even legal tho?_

_Chinchi37: I aim to please :)_

_Xellios1: I can imagine Caryll standing near Ruby and Yang with his scroll out and taking cute pictures of them for later blackmail-*cough-cough* teasing opportunities. Poor Yang should have accepted his first offer of no teasing._

Until next time.


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the seventh chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. I would like to apologize for the long wait, but I'm currently doing finals, so I don't have nearly as much time for writing than I would like._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. OCs are mine though._

* * *

**Chapter 7: Fons**

Raven barged in angrily into her own tent with a fuming expression on her face. The sheer stupidity of that girl grated on her nerves like nothing else. The stubborn brat clang to her own naïve fantasies like a lifeline and refused to see reality for what it was.

She began pacing back and forth with a calm expression that anyone could have seen was strained. She was running out of options, she tried reasoning with her, the stupid brat literally stuck her fingers in her ears and sang gibberish. She tried forcing her to train, the girl threw the practice sword at her feet and scowled at her. Then she tried forcing her hand by attacking her regardless, the girl got injured and cried all afternoon, refusing to even look in her general direction. They repeated the process every day for an entire week, with the same results.

It was safe to say that Raven's patience was running thin, if this kept up she'll have to resort to more… drastic measures. Normally she would shove aside such thoughts after a brief consideration… but the girl's power was essential for the prosperity of the tribe. If she were to cave in to the girl's childish tantrums she would remain weak and only a hindrance to the tribe, and those were dealt with accordingly.

She disliked even considering it seriously, but maybe the best option was to end the girl in the presence of other female members of the tribe and be done with it, there was that one girl who showed potential, Vernal, she remembered, she was just the right age as well…

Unless…

She stopped her pacing and drew her sword. The little girl wouldn't even hear her out anymore just out of spite, not that Raven even knew how to convince an 8 year old that it was in her best interest to leave her childhood behind willingly.

Fortunately, she knew another eight year old who has done that already.

She swung her sword in a downwards arc while channeling her Semblance and her body moved with a familiarity in the direction of the red portal. What was odd was that her portal didn't form correctly and began flickering immediately after casting. Raven stopped in her tracks and regarded the destabilized portal curiously. The portal struggled to remain in shape before it dissipated into the air.

Raven hummed interestedly, that hadn't happened to her in over a decade. When she unlocked her Semblance back then she sometimes had trouble connecting her portals to her desired destination. Her Semblance used people as markers for a destination point, but it was still limited by physical distance, meaning that the farther away her target was the more Aura she had to infuse into her Semblance to connect a portal to them.

She of course practiced with her Semblance enough over the years that the Aura drain was reduced to barely noticeable levels, even to the extent that crossing continents would hardly make her break a sweat. To see that her attempted portal, that had enough power in it to reach Patch, was inadequate made her curious.

Intrigued, Raven checked the connection she shared with her annoying self-appointed nephew/godson and found her eyes almost jumping out their sockets.

Oh, she could still sense him, but the sheer distance between them-, no between him and Remnant was mind boggling, it also felt strange, it felt like the distance wasn't purely physical, but rather something else she couldn't describe with words.

The surprise on her face vanished suddenly and was replaced with a look of determination. She didn't know what he was doing in that otherworldly place, but that brat just posed her a challenge she couldn't deny, she infused so much Aura into her sword that its normally red blade began glowing like a miniature star and swung it in a downwards arc.

Space rippled in front of her for a good few seconds before the familiar oval shaped portal snapped into existence. It still flickered from time to time but otherwise seemed stable enough to traverse. Good thing too, she had to use a good chunk of her reserves to create the connection, it would take a couple minutes for her reserves to recover and attempt another distant connection like this. She quickly stepped through before the portal collapsed and dissipated.

She looked around herself, mildly surprised at her surroundings. She blinked a couple of times as she was presented with a seemingly endless plain of perfectly geometrical rock formations beneath a dark sky.

"Auntie Raven? Is that you?" She heard a childish voice ask from her side. She turned to face the source of the voice; the normally smug brat looked like he swallowed something particularly unpleasant.

"Brat," she greeted with familiarity, trying to hide her own interest in this strange place. "Where are we?" She questioned with a bored expression as she glanced around.

Caryll continued to stare at her with disbelief for a good minute, working his jaw in thought before letting out a tired sigh. "I really should have seen this coming, our Semblances are somewhat similar after all…" He muttered under his breath.

"Well, to answer your question, you're inside the pocket dimension linked to my Semblance," he gestured around grandiosely. "I call it the Kamui dimension or my Time-Space, whichever you prefer," he shrugged with an easy-going smile.

"Your pocket dimension?" She asked with mild skepticism, the kid owned an entire dimension?

"Well, nobody else is around to claim it as only I can access it… you don't count." He sent a warning glare in her direction. "And I can manipulate it somewhat if I concentrate hard enough," he explained while motioning to a large slab of stone. It elevated smoothly into the air before slowly returning to its original position.

Raven was impressed, she didn't know the specifics of his Semblance but she could see the advantages in having a personal dimension. Storage of supplies, weaponry and, if he was capable of drawing people in here, a portable home-field advantage came to mind after only a few moments of consideration.

"Oh bummer," Caryll spoke up suddenly, she sent her a questioning look and he elaborated, "now I can't kill you easily by trapping you here until you starve to death or something." He pouted in mock disappointment.

"As if you could even lay a hand on me," she scoffed dismissively, absurdly skilled he may be for his age, he was still leagues behind her in nearly every field. The boy didn't refute her claim, accepting the truth behind her words and instead reached for inside the bag on his side. He took out four knives and the ground could be felt shifting beneath their feet until a narrow chasm opened up beside them.

"What are you doing?" Raven asked the laid back looking redhead as he moved to the edge.

"I'm waiting for you to tell me the reason behind your visit," he answered without looking at her. "Don't get me wrong, I enjoy your company but you rarely visit without a good reason" He dropped a knife into the abyss. "Until then, I'll just continue training," he declared evenly.

"Oh really? And just what kind of training are you doing now?" She raised a doubtful eyebrow.

"I've been training here instead of the real world lately, apparently Mom didn't appreciate me starting forest fires all the time." He dropped another knife. "So with that in mind I've been testing the limits of this place. Like for example how deep these chasms can go," he hummed thoughtfully.

"And?" She prodded, eager to move on from this conversation.

"I never hear any impact echoes, so I guess they are bottomless," he shrugged and dropped another knife.

"Then why do you keep doing this?"

"I've yet to check if different colored knives reach the bottom."

He dropped another knife.

…

…

"Oh, by the way could I have some more knives? I've been running out of them lately."

She sent him a blank look. The brat had the audacity to smirk at her.

Deciding that if she kept silent he would only continue to mess with her nerves, Raven decided it was time for her to swallow her pride.

"…I have a favor to ask," she gritted out.

* * *

"You want me to manipulate a girl into basically becoming your attack dog?" I sipped from the tea offered to me and regarded Raven carefully. We were sitting around a low table in her tent, drinking some green tea, I was always more of a coffee person myself but I simply couldn't say no to the promise of good tea. Shame that Summer would materialize beside me and slap my hand away whenever I tried to brew myself a cup of coffee, saying that I was still too young for it.

The worst part was that she was growing increasingly resistant to my Puppy Eyes mk.2…

But returning to the matter at hand, I was surprised at Raven's open plea for help, enough in fact to tentatively agree to hear her out. That led to her bringing me to her tribe to discuss exactly what she wanted help with.

I was a bit taken aback when I heard that I was supposed to convince a girl 'my age' that she needed training or she would die. Not to mention all the red flags this situation set off in my mind.

"I wouldn't put it that way, but yes. I've done all I could to make her see reason, but she continues to be deadweight… If this keeps up I'll have no choice but to dispose of her," Raven told me before drinking from her own cup. I frowned in thought, trying to remember what this reminded me of, before a metaphorical light bulb went off in my head.

"I'm sorry Auntie, but this just doesn't make sense," I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "You said that you found her during one of your raids and took her in." At seeing her nod I continued, "don't take this the wrong way, but I know you aren't a good person. Even if you were in a nice mood you would have just left her on her lonesome in the forest or dropped her off in a nearby settlement at best," I pointed out to an increasingly guarded looking Raven.

"Will you do it?" She said curtly with narrowed eyes but I ignored her.

"Unless she is someone important? You want to train her, so you don't want to ransom her," I theorized out loudly. "You see potential in her then, no doubt. But in someone so young while having no qualms about killing her at the same time?" I tapped my chin in mock consideration.

"You have no idea what you are talking about," she sent me a warning gaze, but I continued to pay her no mind.

"Oh, I think I do," I flashed her a winning smile. "Uncle Qrow told me the tribe is from Mistral… couple that with the girl's apparent need for training…. Tell me Auntie, how did you get your hands on the Spring Maiden-?" I was cut off as a red blade invaded my personal space in the blink of an eye and rested against my throat.

"How. Do. You. Know?" She glared at me venomously from across the table. A quick glance downwards showed the tea set ruined by her quick swing, bummer, the tea was delicious.

"Well, that's just mean." I blinked at the offending blade and promptly phased through it. Having a blade against your throat was seriously uncomfortable.

"Answer. The. Question," she demanded with an unfamiliar cold fury empowering her voice… She never spoke to me like this before, damn I think I really went a bit too far this time with my attitude.

"I wasn't inducted like you were if that's what you expect me to say," I glared back at her lightly, the sword still remained in the same position, not that mattered to me… for about two more minutes.

"Then how?" She was visibly holding back herself from cutting me, well, in her mind that was what she was doing at least.

"It was by accident," I shrugged. "Mom left her scroll home one time when she went on a mission. I accidentally glimpsed one of her messages from Ozpin and curious as I am, I read it. It was really interesting and I may have… went through all her mission related messages she had with Team STRQ," I admitted sheepishly. I wasn't even lying funnily enough; I was keeping tabs on Summer's communications to get a better picture on Ozpin's and Salem's secret war while simultaneously looking out for any seemingly overly dangerous missions Summer may receive.

Wait, isn't that a sort of invasion of privacy…? Oh, I guess I'll have to think of a damn good apology when the time comes…

We sat there in an uncomfortable silence for what seemed like minutes, all the while Raven was giving me a piercing stare, until she sighed deeply and lowered her sword.

"Sometimes you are too damn nosy for your own good," she commented exasperatedly while sheathing her blade.

"I wonder about that," I tilted my head to the side playfully, she just scoffed in response.

"How much do you know?" She regarded me seriously with a calculating expression.

"Pretty much everything there is to know. I know about the Maidens, the Relics, Salem and my eyes." Lady, I may be the second most knowledgeable person on this planet aside from a spirit in a lamp under a giant school.

"Then you know why I left that life behind. The web of lies that surround Ozpin only give false hope against her," she scowled at no one in particular.

"I can understand your reasons… I don't agree with them but I understand where you come from," I nodded thoughtfully, fear is one of the most primal emotions there is. Sadly, Raven allowed it to rule her own life. "It's just a shame that you won't be there when we defeat her," I offered as an afterthought.

"You… Trust me Caryll, you don't want to get tangled up in all that." Was that concern in her voice? I shook my head detachedly.

"I have no personal grudges with Salem, Grimm exist with or without her, but our goals don't align, so I suppose I can't stand for her idea of world domination," I reasoned calmly with a frowning Raven. "Besides, I can't just hide like you, she will come after me just because of my eyes. It's only fair for me to hunt her in return," I pointed out that annoying little fact.

"Then you'll die like all others before you," she told me coldly.

"I myself do not fear death," I repeated myself from 5 years ago. "But I would like to protect my family." I sent her a piercing stare, "you're strong, wouldn't you also fight to protect what's yours?"

That silenced her and I silently mourned my spilt tea. She wasn't looking at me anymore, but rather through me, with a complicated expression that I couldn't quite place. The silence stretched on for what seemed like minutes before I let out a tired breath.

"I'll help you with your… Maiden problem. I don't really understand why you think having a Maiden around is a good idea in the first place, but I'll help," I agreed reluctantly. Raven blinked in surprise as I disturbed whatever trance she's been in.

"You'll help even with knowing all that… Why?" She asked suspiciously, it was a fair question, I did just offer assistance in a shadow war to a third party as a… fourth party? But she forgot one little thing that made this whole thing irrelevant in my eyes.

"Because we're family, duh," I stated matter of factly, "and family supports each other." She narrowed her eyes at me and scoffed.

"You may have my favor in some things but we're far from family, you'd do well to remember that," she replied dryly. This caused me to raise a skeptical eyebrow at her.

"Oh really? Let's see, you give me gifts on my birthdays, listen to my problems, spend time with me and you make sure to visit every few months or so. Nowadays I honestly see you more often than I see Uncle Qrow, how are we not family exactly?" I pointed out, a bit annoyed. Raven didn't answer me but her expression maintained the same suspicion as before.

"Ugh, you're so difficult sometimes," I muttered under my breath. "Besides the favor I'm getting from this I want you to train me while I'm here," I declared to a slightly confused looking Raven.

"I thought your mother was handling your training," she pointed out with mild interest.

"Normally yes, but I can't exactly spar with her while I'm here, convincing children to murder and pillage, now can I?" I pointed an accusatory finger at her. "And she only teaches me stuff that is useful against the Grimm, being a law abiding Huntress means she has little experience… killing people." I internally sighed at that little fact, sure there were missions that required Hunters to kill people but those were considered the 'dirtier' missions that few Hunters took willingly. Oh, they were still entirely legal and often issued by the kingdoms themselves, but interest in them was relatively low. "You on the other hand have no such limitation. I'm not asking you to take me on full time, but I could use some pointers or something."

"...We'll see," she said carefully, her posture finally lightening.

"Great!" I said excitedly and got to my feet. "I'll have to get home now, so Mom doesn't get worried, but I'll come back tomorrow," I promised her and stretched my arms. I don't think Summer would appreciate if Raven were to whisker me away for too long, or at all for that matter. I saw Raven giving a nod and get to her feet with a hand on her sword but I put up my hand in a halting motion.

"The tea was delicious, we should have some more when I come back," I smiled at her and warped myself to the Kamui dimension with my final destination being Patch. It was a neat little trick I remembered about my Semblance, I could teleport to places I've previously been to by using the Kamui dimension as a medium. Reality shifted and the dimly lit pocket dimension gave away to the image of our house.

I smiled mischievously when I realized that I could pester- I mean visit Raven whenever I wanted from now on.

* * *

I let out a yawn as the vortex of Kamui deposited me inside Raven's tent. It was morning back on Patch, and we were around the middle of winter, the Branwen tribe on the other hand was on Anima, which was in the middle of summer and it was around noon here. I took off my coat and tossed it up into the air. Not a moment later a cone shaped vortex seemingly sucked it into my eye. Kamui was sure handy.

I looked around the large tent in search of Raven but didn't find any trace of her, she must be out doing something then, I reasoned. Deciding that going out and searching for her on my own would be more troublesome than I was comfortable with, I decided to make myself some tea and wait for her here. Gods know what the other tribe members would do if they saw a little kid in the middle of their camp.

Judging by what the story showed the tribesmen weren't much of threat and I doubted Raven would appreciate me hospitalizing her men if they got overly annoying.

As I waited for her to arrive I wandered around her tent and took in the obviously tribal themed decorations lining the walls. The exotic tapestry and animal hides were the ones that caught my attention, no doubt they were trophies from successful raids. Interestingly I also found numerous empty bottles of wine and whiskey, which was surprising and slightly concerning as I didn't really take Raven for a closet alcoholic.

A bit more searching later I discovered a small pile of books tucked away behind a barrel in the corner. Curious I picked one up and dusted off the cover.

"Old Mistralian Traditions and Folklore" it read. Now interested, as I haven't really thought much about the culture of this world before now, I sat down on one of Raven's pillows next to the low table and opened the book.

"Tribal culture in the frontiers and beyond, huh," I sipped from my tea and began skimming through the book.

* * *

"I see you've already made yourself at home." Raven's dry tone shook me out from my concentration and made me look up at her.

"I was waiting for you to show up," I shot back without missing a beat. "So, can we start already? I've been waiting for you for two hours," I complained and snapped the book shut.

"You're lucky I was the one who found you in my tent and not one of my men," she told me while motioning for me to follow her. I stood up and followed her outside the tent.

"You're scared they might look bad because a little kid beat them all?" I remarked knowingly, but it seemed Raven didn't like my little comment.

"Yes, and then I would have to cut your hand off for attacking the tribe." She rested a hand on her sword to emphasize her point. I put my hands up in a placating manner as we stepped outside.

The Branwen Tribe… wasn't really impressive to look at. The myriad of tattered tents that made up living quarters, storage, armory and such were surrounded by a wooden wall that looked like it was thrown together in 5 minutes flat. The tribesmen going about their everyday lives didn't look better, some of them even gave a definite Mad Max/post-apocalyptic vibe too, just by their clothing and level of hygiene.

"So, do you guys still do sky burials and stuff?" I asked in an effort to focus my attention elsewhere, plus I was actually curious, the book said sky burials were a big deal in tribal culture.

"Sometimes, but only if the person is important enough. The last one was four years ago," she answered curtly as she led me through the middle of the camp, where everyone turned in our direction and looked at us for a bit before going back to their activities. I glanced at Raven and saw her non-concerned expression, maybe this was her way of telling everyone that I was with her?

"Whose was it?" I inquired interestedly.

"The previous chieftain's, my father's to be exact." Well, she didn't seem to be invested in our little conversation, judging by her short answers.

"Oh… How did he-" I began tentatively, but Raven cut me off rather harshly, "I killed him during my trial to become the next chieftain. It wasn't required but the bastard didn't deserve to live after all he's done. The only reason he received the rite at all is because all chieftains have right to them." She glared venomously at no one in particular as we left the main gates.

"Oh..." I stared at her in surprise for a few moments, not really knowing how to handle this situation. I mean I knew there were problems with nearly all of the Branwens in the story, like anger and abandonment issues for Yang, alcoholism and possible neglect for Qrow, not to mention the long list of Raven's issues, but deliberate patricide was a new one.

"We're here," Raven announced once we were a fair bit of distance away from the tribe. There were trees around as far as the eye could see with numerous birds singing in the thick vegetation. A quick glance around with my eyes activated showed me the glowing form of a child sitting by a stream not far from us.

I nodded in acknowledgement and began trekking towards her, all the while thinking about how to approach this whole situation. Raven didn't follow and I could even hear the telltale sound of her transforming into her bird form, it was probably for the better if I did this alone, I mused. Arriving just a few meters behind her I sighed internally and put on my best smile I learned from watching Summer.

"Hi." The girl jumped in place and whipped her head around to look at me with a scared expression. Now that she turned to face me I could actually make out her features. The girl looked around to be my age with shoulder length, deep violet hair that was made up into a French braid. Her freckled face still held traces of baby fat and her vibrant pink eyes regarded me like a spooked animal would a stalking predator. She wore a dirty purple shirt and a light blue skirt that went down to her knees with white leggings.

Oh, she also had violet fox ears on top of her head that were twitching madly, made me wonder how she hadn't heard me approaching.

"Who are you?" She asked in a scared tone, looking me up and down.

"I'm Caryll, what's your name?" I waved in greeting.

"…I'm Lily… what are you doing here? You have to go quickly before those bandits come back here and see you!" Her expression changed to one of worry as she glanced around, expecting to be interrupted by someone.

"She may say this to me more times than I can count, but I know Auntie Raven wouldn't hurt me," I replied evenly and approached her.

"Auntie…?" She frowned thoughtfully before her eyes widened in realization. "You're with that hag!" She exclaimed and scampered away from me. I stopped in my tracks and tried not to burst out laughing at that remark.

"She told me you were lonely, so I came to see if you wanted to be friends" I lifted my arms up innocently.

"Go away! I don't want anything to do with those murderers!" She yelled fearfully as she hugged her forearm protectively. I raised a curious eyebrow at that before speaking in concern.

"Are you hurt?" I asked as I tentatively approached her. She looked away from me, but didn't back away when I stopped before her and kneeled down. I motioned for her arm, but she just mumbled something incoherent while looking at the ground. Sighing, I gently took her hand and narrowed my eyes at what I was seeing.

"Did Raven do this?" I asked while scowling, there were numerous shallow cuts and bruises on her arm, likely from some sort of wooden training blade.

"Yes," she nodded meekly. I blinked a couple of times before nodding to myself. Reality warped around my eye and a vortex deposited a bottle of alcohol in front of me that I borrowed from Qrow earlier. I think it was whiskey or some other spirit.

"W-How did you do that?" Lily looked at the bottle with wide eyes as I picked it up and unscrewed the cork.

"I have special eyeballs," I smiled at her and lifted the bottle over her arm. "This will hurt a lot, but trust me, it will be worth it." I waited for her to nod tentatively before pouring a generous amount of alcohol on the wounds to prevent infection. Lily writhed and cried a bit but I held her arm firmly in place.

"There we go. You were brave there, Lily," I put aside the bottle once I was done and took off my scarf.

"What are you doing?" She asked wonderingly as I wrapped my scarf around her arm like a bandage.

"Stopping you from getting sick, dummy. The air is full of germs and stuff that can make you sick, plus blood should be inside you, otherwise you might get dizzy," I said as I finished treating her wounds. I don't know what Raven was thinking leaving a wound like that to itself. I was hardly a doctor but even I knew that wound would have festered and would have caused a good old blood infection.

"I-… Thanks…" She looked from her arm and to me in shock.

"Don't mention it, what are friends for after all?" I asked rhetorically as I decided to make myself comfortable by lying down on the grass. For a while nothing happened as I daydreamed about different cookie recipes I could try out with Summer, with Yang as our testing dummy of course, while Lily seemed to be mulling over something silently.

"Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you here? What do you want from me?" She scowled at me childishly, to which I shrugged.

"Not much, really. Raven asked me to convince you to train, but nothing else," I admitted nonchalantly. "Speaking of which, why aren't you training?" I asked her from while looking up at the tree tops.

"Because I hate her! I hate Uncle Leo and those who forced me to train! I don't want to fight!" She yelled hotly before her shoulders sagged. "I just want to get back mommy and daddy and play with big sis" Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes.

"…Do you… know where they are now?" I asked gently as I sat up with a worried expression on my face.

"I-… I don't," she looked at me pleadingly. "Why? Why is this happening to me? One day I wake up to rain in my room and the next bad people come and take away everyone while I was told to hide," she began sobbing. "Then Uncle Leo comes and takes me away because I have to protect the people or something! I just want to go home but everyone wants me to fight for something! Why can't they just leave me alone?!"

I didn't answer her hysterical questions, what could I say? That she, an eight year old, was responsible for the continued safety of humanity and Faunuskind? Like she would understand that. I pondered over this for a minute in silence while she sobbed to herself.

Sorry Raven, but I have a little girl to take responsibility of first. I shook my head and embraced the crying girl, she hugged me back immediately and I made shushing noises to calm her.

"Hey, do you know how to skip stones?" I whispered into her ear when she calmed down sufficiently. I felt her shake her head in a negative and I let go of her.

"Come on, it's really fun." I picked up a small pebble and showed it to the red faced girl before throwing it at the stream in a low angle. It jumped two times before sinking under the surface. Lily looked interestedly at the display, I turned back to her and smiled brightly.

"See, it's really cool! Do you want to try it?" She blinked in surprise, but nodded and picked up another pebble and threw it at the water. The pebble bounced three times before sinking to the bottom of the stream.

"You're a natural!" I praised the surprised looking girl, maybe she didn't expect to get it on the first try. "How about a race? The first one to get five jumps gets ten cookies!" I declared to the now openly smiling girl.

What followed was perhaps the most heated battle of stone skipping I've ever had the pleasure of losing.

* * *

_Raven can access the Kamui dimension?! How dare I? Honestly the idea came from Raven's Semblance of making portals to people, no matter where they are. She can travel there only when one of her bonded people are there. I put this in for later plot related shenanigans, not much else honestly._

_Limited manipulation of the Kamui dimension. This is just me patching up minor plot holes, like what happens when Caryll goes underground or fights on a flying object? From Naruto we know that the ground levels of both the Kamui dimension and the real world are the same… so how can Obito sink into the ground or fight on walls for example while using Kamui? The first option is impossible and the second would mean that the moment he's transported he would just freefall to the ground as he's literally in mid-air. It won't come up very much, like I said it's just plot hole fixing. However, if someone has a better fix for this problem I'm open to suggestions._

_Isn't Kamui teleportation broken? Yes it is, that's why it's beautiful._

_Semi-OC makes an appearance… I guess? We know the little girl Spring Maiden existed but we don't know much about her. Seeing as the story is still 13 years away we'll be meeting a few more characters who were mentioned but never seen on screen._

_**Reviews:**_

_coduss: Master Willem would be proud._

_merendinoemiliano: Thanks, I'm going to be making more Grimm based off of mythology, so Apophis is just the tip of the iceberg. In regards to Team ASHE being surpassed by others because of natural improvement of available knowledge, you would be normally right in any other case, but Team ASHE is a bit different. You will see exactly why later on as I made a detailed backstory for each of them, but for now I'll just lay down some things in their favor._

_Firstly, skill. You told me that Caryll's skill shouldn't be that high at that age (6), because he has no outside influence that would have forced him to become stronger. You reasoned that you could see it happening it if he was born into a war or something, well, guess what, all of Team ASHE was born into the greatest war Remnant has ever seen and were forced to improve in order to survive._

_Knowledge. The way I planned it out is that all four members are the masters of their 'specialization' (like X was the best Dust Alchemist and Y was the best Combat Specialist and so on). An in universe explanation for this? Well, place yourself in the shoes of the first headmaster of Beacon right after the Great War for example, what the hell do you teach to your students? What regulations should be in place? What the hell is a Huntsman supposed to be in the first place? You can imagine the entire staff running around like headless chicken trying to figure things out. I briefly mentioned that Team ASHE played a large role in shaping the system of Huntsmen, I will elaborate on this later down the line but basically they were the ones who designed the curriculum of the Academies based on their experience hunting Grimm. So basically, every student in history learned what they __**chose**__ to share with the academia. This doesn't mean that some people didn't expand upon certain subjects, but even they were only rediscovering things Team ASHE already knew 60 years ago._

_Raidentensho: Ship-wise, I may have some inkling of an idea of that already. Weapon-wise, none of the above :P_

_skeletalpheo: What's that smell? Ahh, sweet blood…_

_Chinchi37: I'm glad my suffering hasn't been in vain :)_

_Guests: Thank you guys!_

_Lord-Azrael3 (And a few others who were complaining about the nerfed Kamui): First off, thank you for the criticism, I thought about it a lot and I made up some form of compromise that I think we could agree upon at the end of the response, but I would like to point some things out in your review that didn't hold much merit._

_You need to watch Volume 6 at least before reading this, dude. Not only because it's one of the best Volumes up to date, but because this story is full of spoilers, plus after watching it you would realize that some of your points lose merit in the eye of canon. I'll put a spoiler warning for you for those points if you don't want to be spoiled, though._

_*spoiler*_

_Grimm are fodder? The Apathy and the Leviathan would like to have a word with you._

_Leviathan Grimm showed that Kaiju sized Grimm are somewhat common. When planning against Cordovin, Jaune argued that her mech was likely designed to fight large Grimm that come in from deeper waters, and he was later proven right. If they have a giant mech just for that purpose it stands to reason that they are somewhat commonplace, I mean you don't see the US building giant mechas just because Godzilla __**might**__ appear on the shores of California._

_*spoiler section over*_

_Why don't Titans attack kingdoms? I could be childish and ask why doesn't Salem wipe out humanity anytime she wants, as she's perfectly capable of doing so in canon, but I wish to make an enjoyable story, so this will be part of the compromise._

_The problem with power scaling is my fault honestly, I put in the previous chapter all the nerfs Caryll got, but forgot to mention like literally half of my explanation. Who knew rushing out chapters can lead to things being forgotten?_

_Caryll will become OP in comparison to the main cast, I will say that now, but he will have enemies to match. Semblances can evolve in RWBY (like Blake's shadows literally allow her to teleport now and Ruby can now take others with her while using her Semblance), meaning that Kamui can be "upgraded" with time._

_Caryll got Kamui because he needed hax to survive, how else could I make him survive against, I don't know, a Maiden maybe? Maidens stomp almost anything in physical prowess but their power is useless against someone who isn't even in the same dimension as them, so it could make for a fairly balanced fight._

_I know that Kamui consumes little chakra and its 5 minute time limit, so chill out guys. I changed this mechanic because otherwise Caryll would have almost no use for Aura at all. I mean Aura in the show is mainly used for defensive purposes, but Kamui is a superior form of defense in every single way. Later on, the hard limit of 5 minutes will be explained by his Aura reserves, so that will be still in play._

_What I meant about not being OP is not being OP this early in the story. I could have just given him both eyes right off the bat but that would have felt shallow and would have made every encounter a meaningless cakewalk._

_Fall Maiden Cinder: Finally! I have obtained the full power of the Fall Maiden-!  
Caryll: Kamui-Raikiri! *Cinder gets cut in half and an awkward silence follows, broken by a stray cough*_

_Caryll will gain both eyes, but that doesn't mean I won't make him work his ass off for them. Power is earned, not given._

_Regarding the First Hunters, in this story they supposed to be this super overpowered characters that basically created Huntsmen. Like, together I would place them to be as strong as Ozpin or Salem in their non-immortal days, but I'll suppose I'll tone that war remark down a bit, but not by much._

_Hmm, a team for Caryll, you say? That's not a bad idea honestly and coincidentally I could make a team out of characters I already planned having in the story… Say hello to our first team member, who will be introduced this chapter and will be able to keep up with Caryll strength-wise._

_My compromise: Titans still exist but like 95% of them are asleep because they require a certain level of ambient negativity around them to awaken (like the Grimm Wyvern in Mountain Glenn). The last great awakening was during the Great War with a smaller one during the Faunus Rights Revolution. However, there had been reports lately that more and more Titans are awakening for reasons unknown (this will tie into the plot). First Hunters will be nerfed slightly to better reflect "power scales" in RWBY._

_If you agree with this, just say so and I'll update a few chapters to fit this into the story._

_Everything else will be explained by Silver Eyes and Hashirama cells!_

_Until next time folks._


	8. Chapter 8

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the eighth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. Again, I would like to apologize for the later-than-usual chapter, but the good news is that I'm done with finals and now I actually have time to sit down and write stuff. I originally intended for this chapter to be longer, but I felt bad about not publishing anything for almost 20 days straight, so I thought 'Why not? The chapter still feels good pacing wise and all it will do is make the next chapter a bit longer'._

_I've also updated the previous chapters, altered a few sentences to fit in the quick fix to Titans and the First Hunters, plus caught and corrected a couple grammatical errors, so you know, all around great stuff._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. OCs are mine though._

* * *

**Chapter 8: Corvi**

"No." I looked at Lily plainly.

"Please," she pouted with a begging expression. We were currently walking by the large stream not far from the tribe.

"I'm not letting you braid my hair." I looked at her warningly from the corner of my eyes as I looked back ahead. It has been a couple of months since our first meeting and I admit that we quickly became good friends during that time, but that's a bit much.

"But your hair feels so soft, like silk!" She argued childishly.

"Lily, I'm a boy. Boys don't have braids. It's just weird," I countered uncomfortably. I wasn't going to deny her statement however, my hair was indeed fabulous, I have Summer and her genes to thank for it.

"Pretty please…?" She stopped and I got a taste of my own medicine. The cursed puppy eyes. I stopped and looked at her impassively for a few moments before my eyes twitched. She had something that not even I possessed.

An extra set of cute fox ears.

Somehow, I heard something that sounded like Summer laughing in the distance.

"…Fine," I relented with sagged shoulders, Lily fist pumped in celebration "But only if I can touch your ears" I named my price and she immediately clammed up and looked generally uncomfortable.

"…Mom said I shouldn't let other people touch them. They get hurt easily," she mumbled while looking at the ground.

"I promise I'll be careful and you'll promise to not mess up my hair… too much," I smiled at her and offered my hand in a pinkie promise. Lily seemed to think about it for a few seconds before beaming a smile and shaking on the deal.

"Great! Wait here, I'll go get some things first," she declared and disappeared into the forest. I looked at where she disappeared before shaking my head and sighing. Offer your hand and they bite your whole arm. I turned and settled down in the shade of a nearby tree and decided to pass the time by practicing some of the things Raven showed me in my time under her wing, pun fully intended.

There were the general sword fighting tricks she taught me and such but perhaps the most useful thing she passed onto me was a skill related to Aura control. That skill was Aura suppression, basically the antithesis of Aura projection, it allowed me to remain undetected if someone was searching for me by Aura sensing. It worked by reducing the subconsciously emitted Aura to barely noticeable levels, effectively disguising the person as an inanimate object.

It worked like a charm on normal sensors but failed miserably when faced with eyes like mine. No wonder really, even an inexperienced person like me could discern an unborn Ruby's Aura from Summer's. Unsatisfied with this weakness and the level of control required by suppression, I turned elsewhere to find my answer. It wasn't long after that I had my eureka moment.

I literally had a whole dimension at my disposal to send things to. It didn't matter if it was bricks, air, Grimm or people, I warped space itself into Kamui. That raised the question… Could I transport Aura directly into the Kamui dimension, without sending anything else with it?

The answer was apparently yes.

By concentrating solely on my Aura while using my Semblance I could shave off 99% of my reserves, becoming effectively undetectable by normal means, no Aura means no emissions after all. Unfortunately, the transferred Aura is lost forever as it dissipates into the background of the dimension, but it's worth it in my opinion. It isn't foolproof though, when I asked Summer to look for me she was still able to find me after a while.

I was ready to leave it at that after that revelation, almost perfect is still better than pretty great after all, but then a second eureka moment hit me. It happened during one of our Aura familiarizing sessions with Summer, we practiced it so we could transfer Aura to each other if the need ever arose. That's when her earlier words occurred to me.

If my Aura is familiar enough with someone else's then I could imitate theirs. Experienced Hunters usually use this for Aura transfer, but what if I just imitated theirs to mask my own?

I closed my eyes and activated my Semblance. My reserves drained rapidly before settling down to the absolute minimum I could maintain with Kamui activated. I channeled the remaining amount and any newly regained Aura into my hand where it glowed with a light silver color. I then recalled the feeling of Summer's Aura and watched as the glow of my own Aura changed to a pure white.

Does this count as identity theft?

Right now, I was only familiar with Summer's Aura and hers would hardly help me blend into my surroundings but I could always awaken the Aura of a random animal and use its Aura to mask my own, most people can't even differentiate between the Auras of animals so anything would do, really- wait a second…

Did I just try to convince myself that I should get a dog and name it Zwei?

Pfft, who am I kidding? I don't need a reason for that.

"I'm back!" I heard Lily's voice call out from behind me and I turned to face her. "Close your eyes! I want it to be a surprise!" She hastily commanded and I did so with an amused huff. I heard shuffling from behind me as she sat down and removed the rubber ring holding my hair together.

"Eh? Where are your ears?" She asked confusedly as she combed through my hair.

"On the side of my head Lily, where else would they be?" I asked rhetorically.

"Oh, then what's your trait? I thought it was ears but I couldn't see because of your hair." She separated my hair into three long bangs and began braiding them together.

"I'm human, Lily. I don't have animal traits," I clarified in surprise, why would she think I was a Faunus?

"What's a human? I haven't heard of that kind of Faunus before?" She asked curiously while I blinked in confusion at that statement. I get that she was only eight, but how the hell didn't she know what a human was? Humans made up three-fourths of Remnant's population, not knowing about them was like somebody not knowing that oceans existed.

"…Lily, have you met anyone else without any visible animal traits before?" I asked cautiously while she hummed in thought.

"Uhh… Once or twice I've seen people like that on TV but I thought their traits just weren't visible," she explained and began humming a tune as she continued braiding my hair. Meanwhile I was silently mulling this over, how could this be? She told me she was from Mistral, a dominantly human city where Faunus are treated like second-class citizens, I mean she would only have to walk outside the street for a minute and spot a human-…

Oh…

"Say Lily, what kind of traits did your neighbors have?" I inquired after a bit of silence on my part, a bit wary of the answer.

"Well… Miss Ivy had her ears that were like a cat's and Miss Amethyst had a freaky tongue that she always used to taste the air…. whatever that means, oh there was…!" She told me animatedly while I nodded absentmindedly with a wry smile. At first I thought that she was sheltered and wasn't allowed to go outside because of the racial tension… but I was partly wrong. She was sheltered from humans, no doubt about it, but the fact that her neighborhood was full of Faunus also told me that something bigger was at play there.

I sighed mentally; the concept of racial segregation wasn't anything new to me. It just saddened me to see it here.

"Lily, humans aren't Faunus, we look just like you but we don't have any animal traits," I smiled wryly to the girl. She stopped her tale and tilted her head curiously.

"Oh… But Mom said everyone was special, what makes humans special?" She asked with curiosity only a child could muster.

"Nothing… Nothing at all," I told her honestly, being human doesn't make anyone special, people being themselves is what makes them special.

"Oh… Well, I think your hair is special!" She declared cheerfully in an effort to help my wrongly perceived sadness. I chuckled good naturedly at the attempt, the girl was like a beam of sunshine. Lily took the bangs on the sides of my face and pulled them backwards.

"And… It's done! Take a look!" I opened my eyes and walked to the large stream to see my reflection-

-What did this girl do to me?

"Well? What do you think?" She appeared beside me and asked eagerly while I stared at the water in disbelief. My shoulder length, black and red hair was braided into a French braid while the two bangs on the side of my face were pulled back into a makeshift crown. That wasn't the part that shocked me however, it was the literal bouquet of flowers woven into my hair. I could make out chamomile, cyclamen and daisies, I think, while my "crown" was decorated with red and white roses in an alternating pattern. I didn't even notice her weaving in the flowers.

She did that in only a few minutes-? Scratch that, how did she get these flowers in the first place?

"I-… I have no words." I was speechless for a few seconds. "I love it… Thanks Lily, it's amazing," I nodded once and smiled brightly at the girl. It felt ridiculous and a bit demeaning but it was really a piece of work and it actually warmed my heart to know she went out of her way to collect all these flowers for me, in the wild no less.

"You're welcome," She beamed back and pointed at her own hair. "And now we match, see?"

"Not quite," I remarked playfully and tugged a lily from my hair and placed it beside one of her fox ears. "Now we're both living up to our names." We laughed and she didn't even realize that I managed to pet her ears while she was distracted.

A beeping sound disturbed the serene moment. I took out my scroll to see it was the alarm I set for my sessions with Raven. I turned it off and turned to Lily with an apologetic smile.

"I'll have to go now, tomorrow same time?" I asked and she nodded eagerly, it must have been tough living in a bandit camp where the number of friendly faces could be counted on one hand-… actually I think I am the only friend Lily has now…

We waved at each other and I warped myself away with Kamui. I didn't worry about leaving Lily alone in the forest, the tribe made sure to exterminate the local Grimm regularly and Raven could track her down without much problem if she got lost somehow.

I reappeared inside Raven's tent and made my way to the back and exited to the small sparring area behind her tent. I stepped outside and saw Raven effortlessly cut a thick log in half with a Iaido strike. It was a quick and clean cut but the style itself didn't really appeal to me that much, fortunately Raven knew other styles she could pass down to me. She stopped her training when she noticed my presence and turned to face me. She was halfway towards facing me and I could see her mouth moving to make some kind of remark or perhaps some greeting if she felt really generous when she froze and her eyes widened in comical surprise.

…

…

"Is there something on my face?" I asked in confusion while tapping my clothes and face. When my hands reached my hairline I also froze and my expression changed to one of horror. I saw her normally cold and expressionless face struggling to remain in place as we stared at each other.

"… I didn't-" she began mirthfully only to be cut off by me. "Not. A. Word," I warned her with a finality in my voice I rarely used. I activated my Semblance and let all the flowers fall from my hair. I approached a laughing Raven while untangling my hair and muttering about stupid bird-nest-haired bandits.

* * *

"I don't get it," I said as I blocked a diagonal slash of Raven's training blade with my own.

"Don't get what?" She asked as she retreated a step and sheathed her sword in preparation.

"The Branwen Tribe. I don't get how it formed in the first place, much less continue to exist before getting a trained fighter like you or Uncle Qrow-" she cut me off by rushing me with a Iaido strike that I barely managed to block with a raised armguard. I winced under the stress, but gritted through it and spun inside her guard to stab her in a swift motion. Unfortunately, she was faster and blindsided me with a punch that sent me skidding away.

"Are you here for a history lesson or to improve on your lousy swordsmanship?" She remarked disinterestedly while I got back to my feet. "Even if that counter was somewhat competent, your parry was laughable," she somehow praised and reprimanded me at the same time.

"I'm just curious, that's all," I winced as I caressed the spot where I got hit. Raven was a… competent teacher, surprisingly. Sure, she was impatient, demanding, aloof and many worse adjectives I could think of from the top of my head, but she got results, and that's what counted in the end, or at least that's what I cared about. She was also a firm believer of 'pain is the greatest teacher of all', meaning that we sparred with inactive Auras. I could only use it to heal my many bruises but never to attack or defend myself with it.

"And I'm also curious about your progress with keeping your promise," she shot back as we got back into our stances. "It's been months and she still refuses to even hold eye contact with me for longer than a second, much less pick up a training blade."

"I'm sorry, is it that urgent? I had no idea," I rolled my eyes at her, even if Lily began training now, her training would still take years, a few months difference would make no practical difference in the grand scheme of things. "I admit that I've been taking things slower than most would, but that doesn't mean I've been sitting idly." I took the initiative by sending a simple diagonal slash at her. Her blade met mine and deflected it to the side with effortless fluidity. She tried to counter by punching me in the face but found her fist sailing through me, making her lose balance in the process. I used her surprise to quickly jump through her and bash her in the back of her head. She fell to her knees and I stopped a few meters away, satisfied with the brief exchange.

Raven didn't like that.

She growled while getting back to her feet with as much dignity as she could muster and sent me a death glare.

"What was that?"

"You said no Aura for defense, you didn't say anything about Semblances," I answered innocently. She glared at me before throwing the wooden blade in her hand at my head. I phased through it effortlessly, not really wanting to get whacked-

"Ouch!" I cried out as I clutched the back of my head. I looked up and saw an unamused Raven sticking her hand through one of her portals. She pulled it back and the portal flickered out of existence soon after.

"No Semblances." I nodded at her declaration painfully.

"How did you even know that would work?" I asked and tossed her sword back to her.

"It was a theory of mine that just needed testing. Did you really think you were the only one who was getting something from this?" She asked rhetorically while I processed her words. She's been exposed to my Semblance for months on end and had even been to the Kamui dimension as well. All things considered she had many ample opportunities to come up with theories on how Kamui worked.

Alright Raven, I may have underestimated you…

"Moving on from that, for your information I don't want to rush this because as even you can attest, normal methods of persuasion fail miserably on Lily," I reasoned as we circled each other.

"Is that why you're getting this friendly with her? I didn't think you had it in you to manipulate people like that," she remarked with an unreadable expression, right she didn't really approve of Ozpin's manipulative nature, I recalled after a second of thought. She attacked me first this time with a quick and presumably powerful strike, I didn't feel like testing the strength behind that swing and instead chose to dodge to the side before jumping back into the action.

"Not everything I do here is connected to your favor, she is in a hard place right now and if even one friendly face is enough to make her feel better, then I'd gladly be that face." She blocked my strike and used her sword arm's elbow to smack me in the face and send me a few steps back.

"Then please, do tell me what your plan is to convince your little friend," she said sarcastically as she beckoned me to come again.

"She's… a bit difficult," I admitted and we engaged again, a bit lighter in intensity this time so that we could hold the conversation. "She's been sheltered from the real world and I doubt she even knows the severity of her situation." That didn't make her any worse of a person, I defended in my mind, seeing as I seriously doubted Raven would care for that little detail.

"Drive, she needs a driving force," I panted while evading a brutal kick from Raven. "I initially hoped that we would stumble upon a traumatizing event that would force her hand and open her eyes, but as time went on and nothing happened I realized that those are few and far in between… plus I don't think I could simply stand aside and let something like that happen to her…" I admitted tiredly, my sense of empathy would almost certainly get the better of me.

"Hmm, yes, an event like that certainly helped in your case," Raven observed thoughtfully, this caused me to glare at her while fending off another flurry of her attacks.

"…Yes, it did, oh by the way, she is fine." I sent her a piercing stare that was almost lost on her.

"Who are you talking about?" She asked while efficiently disarming me of my weapon, sending the wooden sword flying off to the side.

"Yang, you know, my little sister that was with me that time? You might know her, I heard you're her mother or something," I didn't bother to retrieve my sword as I mocked her. Raven lowered her sword and put on her usual mask of indifference, unfortunately for her it only worked on those who haven't seen her at her lowest.

"I heard she got through it unscathed? As far as I'm aware she's completely fine as she is," she replied in a manner that made my eyes twitch. I picked up my sword and we resumed our practice, even though the atmosphere was noticeably colder.

"Yes, no thanks to you," I remarked with a knowing look. "I know about the connection you share with us. You know if we are in distress or something like that. So, where were you exactly when she was about to be killed?" I asked icily. Our spar noticeably intensified at that and I had to block or deflect strikes that left me rattled and sore.

"I had faith you would handle the situation," she said tersely as I was forced to block a particularly hard strike that required me to support my blade with my other hand as well.

"You and faith?" I snorted in mock amusement. "Why not just admit that you wouldn't care in the least if either of us died-" I was cut off by Raven striking my wrist with enough force to send my sword flying, then before I could even blink she used the pommel of her sword to strike in the chest. The force behind it knocked me to the ground in heap of pain.

Things quieted down quickly around us, a pained look upwards showed me the visage of a sneering and panting Raven. I forced myself upright with ragged breaths until I felt a sharp pain emanating from my chest. I went into a rather long coughing fit that left me fighting for air for the better part of a minute before I could attempt to stand up again. I pulled away my hand from my mouth and my eyes widened in surprise.

"We're done for today." Raven's hateful expression quickly melted away at the sight of blood on my fingers.

"What? Why?" I asked confusedly, I was hardly feeling any pain at all. I've survived for three days without any form of anesthetic while my organs turned to goo and my arteries became sieves. Not to mention the sensation that tempted me to claw out my own eyes every time I used my Semblance. Compared to those experiences, a little internal bleeding was much more manageable. Plus, my Aura could heal it in half an hour at worst, depending on how badly things were shaken around inside.

"You're coughing up blood, any more physical stress and you'll choke on your own blood," she declared while sheathing her blade and setting it on the rack beside her tent.

"Now you're concerned about my health," I said sarcastically. She stopped and her eyes bore into my own with an unfamiliar intensity, I returned it and after a minute or so her shoulders sagged a bit.

"You wanted to know more about the tribe didn't you?" She forced out and sat down on one of the nearby crates, while tossing me a gourd of water. I caught it and took a huge gulp of it. I sloshed the water around a bit and spat out the discolored fluid to the side. I sent a quick glance to Raven and sighed internally, I really did not want to relive the experience that killed me in the first place. I tossed the gourd back to her and sat down on a crate opposite to her.

"The tribe isn't as old as you would think," she spoke up after a bit of silence. "While our traditions can be traced back centuries, the tribe itself was founded shortly after the Great War."

"Soo… around 67 years ago?" I questioned after doing some mental math, I was actually born in 59 AV, or After Vytal if you don't like abbreviations. Raven nodded disinterestedly.

"A bit less actually, my grandmother had to graduate from Shade first before even thinking about founding what would later become the tribe," Raven explained with a far-away look.

"Your grandmother was a Huntress in Vacuo?" I asked confusedly, Raven didn't have any traits that would point to a Vacuan ancestry.

"She wasn't a native, but she chose to attend there for personal reasons" She shrugged "After graduation she returned to Mistral and became its premier Huntress, its only Huntress for a while, actually." I furrowed my brows in thought at that.

"What was her name?" I asked curiously.

"Eileen Branwen, Hunter of Hunters and member of Team ASHE," Raven told me plainly while my eyes bulged out and I found my chest flaring with pain due to my surprise and my injury.

"Your grandmother was one of the First Hunters?!" I yelled in shock and jumped to my feet.

"Yes, now keep it down before you rile up the whole forest," she chided me with a bland look. I nodded sheepishly and sat back down.

"I-… I don't understand," I spoke up after a bit of silence. "Team ASHE was a highly respected team in their days, why would one of them start a bandit tribe of all things?" That made no sense to me, it just seemed… beneath their attention, disregarding the other issues of morality that came up.

"The Branwen Tribe wasn't always like what you see now," Raven responded with a bitter expression. "Believe it or not we started out on the opposite side of the law, as a band of mercenaries no less. Back under Eileen our people would hunt down criminals, deserters, bandits and rogue Hunters for the kingdoms and other smaller settlements," she explained with a light scowl.

"This is where the title of Hunter of Hunters comes from?" I concluded with a thinking expression. It was rare for a Hunter to go rogue nowadays as the image of Hunters is just too deeply ingrained in society for people to think about them as any less than saviors of Remnant. Plus, the entire 8 year long training process is usually enough for teachers to weed out those with questionable intentions. However, the entire system was a lot less developed back in the olden days and the ratio of Hunters going AWOL was a lot higher.

"We could handle the small fry but when it came to Hunter level opponents Eileen would step in and take care of them," she snorted in amusement. "Most times just the threat of her would make our targets piss themselves and surrender but the few times the fools resisted… let's just say they didn't have the time to second guess themselves."

"What was she like?" I asked interestedly, eager to learn more about Raven's family. I was hopeful Raven actually had someone… normal in her childhood who wasn't an emotional train wreck. From what I was able to deduce while Qrow and Raven had a somewhat amiable relationship growing up, they could never really connect until Beacon. Both of them were… damaged when they entered but sadly only Qrow came out of there with most of his personal issues solved. I had the sneaking suspicion that Summer and Tai were the ones to thank for that.

Remnant produced the best childhoods, honestly.

"I didn't know her personally, she disappeared a decade before I was born so I only heard the stories about her." She lost all remaining tension in her body as she looked down at the dirt, "according to other tribesmen she had a powerful presence that demanded respect. She didn't fear anything and held those who lived for their freedom in high regard. Her unparalleled skill with almost any kind of weapon and her confident personality coupled with her Semblance earned her a reputation as one of the deadliest Huntresses to ever walk the face of Remnant."

"What was her Semblance?" I raised my eyebrows curiously.

"Nightmare Fog… trust me, you don't want to face someone with a Semblance of that caliber, not even with your own seemingly infallible one," she glanced upwards with a light frown, at my inquisitive look she elaborated. "When Eileen decided someone was worthy of using her Semblance on, purple smoke would roll off her in droves, which would cover a large area in a matter of seconds. I know of only few people who managed to survive once they were covered by the smoke."

"So what does the smoke do?" I asked interestedly, Raven said not even an ability like Kamui would help me much against it, so it was something I would very much like to know.

"I'm not sure…" Raven admitted with a light scowl. "Some say it's some drug that scrambles with your senses so you can't even differentiate up from down and makes you see things that aren't there, usually things straight out of your nightmares," she told me with an impassive gaze.

"I don't see why I wouldn't be able to overcome that, I mean if it's just psychological I can just warp myself out of there," I scratched my head confusedly. A drug would need to be able to interact with my body to take effect, Kamui prevents that entirely.

Raven ignored my comment and continued, "one survivor said that he spent several days in the fog trying to find a way out while fighting creatures that greatly resembled Grimm. He also reported that he encountered Eileen multiple times while in there, they would fight, he would kill her every time, only for her to burst into purple smoke and reappear at a later time." She took a slow breath and continued wryly, "he was surprised to hear that in the outside world only a few minutes passed and that Eileen herself was without a scratch, despite their numerous fights."

"So? What is so special about that? It sounds like a well-crafted illusion to me," I shrugged my shoulders disinterestedly, as great as illusion Semblances are, they were just that, illusions.

Raven sent me a blank look, "the man showed signs of dehydration and had wounds that resembled tears and claw marks."

…

…

"Your grandma was scary…" I muttered in disbelief… that wasn't just a drug induced hallucination. That was… something else entirely. I blinked away my shock and narrowed my eyes at Raven in determination.

"What's the catch?" I demanded with steely eyes.

"What catch?" Raven questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"The catch. Every Semblance has a weak point, a drawback," I stated confidently. "Your portals can only open to people bonded to you, my Semblance prohibits me from interacting with the real world while I'm intangible and let's not even get into Uncle Qrow's Semblance…" I trailed off.

"There's no 'catch' as far as I'm aware, even if there was one, Eileen never told anyone, apart from maybe her teammates," she responded slowly, leaving me in thoughtful silence.

"How does someone even awaken a Semblance like that…?" I wondered out loud enough for Raven to hear. She sighed and got up from her seat to walk over to her signature sword.

"Remnant is full of little dreamers like you. The problem with your type is that your dreams of a better future often become the nightmares of others," she stated as she picked up her sword and clasped it to her belt. "During the Great War the illustrious nobles of Mistral had seen fit to contain… undesirables like my grandmother in labor camps out in the Frontiers," she drawled sarcastically. "They thought that by removing the more expressive people from the capital the Grimm attacks would become more manageable, or at least that's what they told my eight year old grandmother. I'm sure the fact that these individuals happened to be political opponents of said nobles was just a coincidence," she chuckled mirthlessly while my face contorted in disgust. Well, there goes any sympathy I might have harbored to the other side of the Great War.

"As she grew older in those mines she had the chance to learn the natural order of our world by experiencing it as a slave. That is, until one day a major Grimm attack breached the outer walls of the prison camp."

"I take it she used the chance to escape?" I supplied attentively. Raven surprised me by outright laughing.

"She awakened her Aura and Semblance during the attack. She did escape but not before massacring the attacking horde of Grimm, all of the guards and the few remaining prisoners who got into the crossfire," she chuckled morbidly. "There are stories that the purple smoke bellowed for days from the shafts and natural caves dotting the mountains, in the end outsiders only witnessed one small girl walking out of the smoking wreckage."

It's official, all Branwens are messed up beyond all recognition.

"After that she fled to Vacuo to avoid persecution and joined Shade once the Great War was over. The rest is history as they say," she shrugged as if she didn't just admit that her lineage contains a mass murderer- oh who am I kidding, we're talking about Raven here, she clearly doesn't give a damn.

"It's getting late, your mother might start to worry if you don't go back soon." Her voice shook me out of my thoughts and made me look up at the sky and see that nighttime was fast approaching. I nodded in goodbye and watched as Raven disappeared into her tent.

I didn't warp away immediately, instead I chose to sit in place and look at the sky in thought. Raven gave me a lot to think about; the tribe, her family and Lily… Apparently the tribe wasn't always like this, under Eileen it was a rather successful mercenary band with tribal features, but sometime later it became a bandit tribe. Raven didn't exactly seem thrilled about the state of the tribe, so it's possible that her father was the one who made the transition. It would certainly explain at least some of Raven's disdain towards the man. This whole topic raised a very interesting question.

Should I get involved in this? Even if my assumption that Raven is unsatisfied with the tribe's current state of affairs is correct, she clearly wasn't going to do anything about it.

Still, the opportunity was still there and maybe Raven could be convinced to change things… but I shouldn't be the one to convince her. Honestly speaking the tribe wasn't my concern, Raven and Lily were the ones that make me come back time and time again. Even if I was on friendly terms with a few of the tribesmen due to me simply hanging around them for so long, I wasn't a member of the tribe.

Then there was Lily, I knew Raven enough to not worry about any deadlines, she was too patient and pragmatic for that, but I still had to figure out how to motivate Lily.

…

…

…

"I'm a genius…" My expression lit up as a solution hit me and I warped myself home to work out the details of my grand master plan.

* * *

_If Ruby can have a BFF, so can Caryll._

_Some actual racism, even if it's a passive aggressive version of it. I plan on giving the White Fang actual reasons to rise up in arms in this story, so expect more examples of racism like this._

_Pictures a grumpy chibi Caryll with braided hair threatening Raven, who's doubled over from laughing. Seriously though, I don't know if any of you guys do fanart but if anyone decided to draw a scene like that I will seriously consider posting it as the cover image for this story._

_Raven could access the Kamui dimension because a part of Caryll was there at the time. It isn't a reliable way of getting there, I actually envision it like a chance based occurrence, like the more of Caryll's body is in the Kamui dimension, the higher the chance of Raven's portal would connect there instead of the real world. In this instance I would say there was a 5% chance of Raven succeeding, so yeah, she was incredibly lucky this time._

_Insert image of Raven ending Caryll rightly._

_Remnant produces the best childhoods, everybody!_

_No cookies for figuring out who that callout goes to. The bird motif in her character was just an added bonus when I decided to make her a Branwen._

_The next two chapters are going to be longer ones and will subsequently mark the end of Act 1. You could consider Act 1 as buildup for the story and Act 2…. well, you'll see for yourself. All I'll say is that I believe we all know what event will trigger the start of the real story here._

_**Reviews:**_

_AnimeA55Kicker: Pairings haven't been decided yet and won't be for quite a while. I'm just putting options out there for now._

_Chinchi37: It's my duty Sir/Ma'am._

_Blaze121: Hmm, not quite like Raven's mask but it will be something, also by my timetable canon should be roughly 12 chapters away from now, don't worry I won't be going year by year until then, there will be a pretty large time-skip when I finish Act 2._

_merendinoemiliano: Glad for your support._

_Lord-Azrael3: Well… technically I've already made him untouchable… eh, anyone?*cricket noises* On a more serious note he will get to that level in time, however Remnant isn't a cake walk either. Right now, the best analogy for his situation would be to say that he's an Olympic swimmer in the children's pool. He's incredibly capable and can beat any student handily and hold his own against a full-fledged Hunter if it came down to it, but like Roman said, the world doesn't care. The moment he steps foot outside the kingdom's walls he will realize that his little pool became the Atlantic Ocean and that he isn't the only world-class swimmer in out there._

_I personally never had a problem with her voice, but after rewatching Vol 6 Ruby's voice does get deeper and more mature, the pitch of her voice is just played up for comedic purposes in the first episode._

_Semblance and Aura are purely spiritual as far as I'm aware, the only example of hereditary Semblances are the Schnee Glyphs but I attribute it more to psychological imprints from one generation to the other than anything else. And yep, if Caryll somehow got all their Semblances he would become a literal god._

_Caryll: *somehow gets a sample of Eileen's Aura and successfully familiarizes himself with it, somehow gaining her Semblance in the process* Time to go on a witch hunt  
*Warps himself to Salem's castle with Kamui, he appears on the large table with all villains surrounding him*  
Salem: Another one of Ozpin's guardians… I'm immortal, child, as long as this world turns I cannot be defeated *tendrils of darkness begin to surround the table and all villains shuffle uncomfortably in anticipation*  
Caryll: This world, you say?*Proceeds to Kamui the entire room into his Time-Space. All the villains look around confusedly as purple smoke spreads rapidly from Caryll's body*  
Caryll: Welcome to your Hell *Due to the reality warping nature of both Kamui and Nightmare Fog the two Semblances combine into a singular ability that allows Caryll to manipulate his dimension like a god* Fade to oblivion *Proceeds to snap every one of them present out of existence*_

_Boy, I think you'll love the last chapter of Act 2, I won't spoil anything, but here are some reactions of some non-related characters to chapter ~20._

_Ozpin: *drinking coffee before freezing in place and shattering the mug in his hand*  
Glynda: Professor? What happened?  
Ozpin: *massages his temples* Not this shit again…_

_Young Cinder: Mistress? What's happening?  
Salem: Well, this is Déjà vu…_

_GoD: *Stares at his brother in visible disappointment* You just had to create THAT?!  
GoL: You're one to talk?! Who leaves things like THAT just lying around?!_

_Disclaimer; it has nothing to do with resurrection or stuff like that._

_Guest: The FBI is so efficient they even cross dimensions._

_TheOrangeLord: Nah, my version of Silver Eyes stomp the Byakugan, the Eternal (SE don't cause blindness) Mangekyo Sharingan is a much better match with what I have planned. Rinnegan and Tenseigan are a whole other league of broken though._

_xenoblubber: The mc is male, I looked back and only saw one instance where I referred to him as a female by accident, I found no other grammar errors like that, but I fixed all chapters to weed out mistakes like that._

_Guest: …this usually ends up shredding the story and could paint the author in a bad corner *proceeds to not read the rest of the story*  
Me: *Bruh sound effect*_

_All other guests: Thanks guys!_

_Until next time._


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the ninth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. I would like to thank every one of you for following/favoriting this story. Thanks to you guys we have reached the 500 followers mark and will probably reach the 400 favorite mark soon enough as well. I honestly didn't think this story would get as much attention as it has now and I'm only happy to write more stuff for you guys._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. OCs are mine though._

* * *

**Chapter 9: Sanguines**

"Eye Of The Tiger?" An Inferno knife sailed through the air towards the roaring Ursa Major. The Grimm got on its hind legs and swiped its massive claws to deflect the projectile, unfortunately for it I yanked on the ethereal string connected to the knife and guided it around the moving appendage. The knife lodged itself into the bear-like creature's throat with effortless ease.

The Ursa howled in pain and missed the second glowing Inferno knife flying towards it. The two knives attracted each other and caused the Ursa to fall face forward as the second knife flew between its legs. Meanwhile I sprinted at the Ursa and used its head as a stepping stone to jump up into the air while calling back the second knife. It quickly changed course towards me and just before it would have collided with me I kicked it towards the downed Grimm. It hit the base of its skull and the two knives exploded in a large fireball while I landed a bit farther away.

"Hmm, I don't know… I'm just kinda not in the mood for singing anymore." Summer appeared beside me with a tired expression.

"Yeah, my throat got a bit coarse after Sweet Dreams too…" I conceded as I looked around for more Grimm to kill.

"It's also getting late, I just wanna go home and sleep for two days straight," Summer yawned loudly as we scanned the tree line with glowing eyes.

"I second that, who knew a simple mission could be so tiresome?" I responded with a yawn of my own. Now 9 year old me and Summer were on a small search and destroy mission. She made good on her promise and taken me along on an originally simple and straight forward mission.

A few Ursai and Griffons were sighted near a large farm close to the edge of the agricultural sector of southern Vale. Our, or I should say Summer's job, as my presence was completely under the table in this instance, was to survey the area for signs of Grimm activity and exterminate the threat.

Easy on paper and should be doable in a single afternoon if not for the simple fact that the reports were grossly understated, Ursai meant Ursa Majors and a few Griffons meant an entire nest. Nothing we couldn't handle of course, it was just annoying to have to deal with so many enemies that seemed content to hide in the forest and in the fields of corn.

So, we sang songs to attract Grimm and to keep our tired spirits up while tracking these damn things. I personally wasn't much of a singer but to both our lucks, Summer had the voice of an angel, plus she was willing to sing along to the songs I taught her from my previous life, which was a great silver lining.

"Sorry about this, I wanted your first mission to be less tedious…" She apologized sheepishly but I just waved her off.

"Don't worry about it, I knew the dangers that came with the mission, doing what amounts to chores included." We shared a chuckle before both of our stomachs rumbled in unison. We both looked down at our stomachs with a wince and adopted a serious look. We looked back up at each other and shared a moment of mutual understanding.

"We should wrap this up," I declared in a firm tone. "Guiding Light?" Summer relayed her idea to me. I thought about it for a second and nodded in agreement, all of the grounded Grimm were dealt with and only the flyers remained.

"Got it." I looked up and warped myself up a few hundred meters in the air. Gravity took hold of me and I began freefalling towards the distant ground. I waited a few seconds as I built up pressure behind my eyes and then released a brilliant white flash of light. Of course this high up in the sky it wouldn't do any harm to Grimm on the ground, but it wasn't supposed to.

…

I blinked away the brightness and observed the forest and fields below me, sure enough I saw several dozen black dots moving around erratically. Remember what I've said about Grimm and Aura? That Grimm are enraged by positivity and light? I compared Aura to a beacon in the night, by following that analogy Silver Eyes are like the flash of a nuclear detonation.

In reality this means that by flashing my eyes like that I just woke up the entirety of our hunting ground.

I smirked and flashed my eyes again and again for a few times as I fell downwards. Consequently the black dots began moving in my direction, more than likely to kill whatever was provoking them into action.

Feeling like I was about to fall asleep from exhaustion I stopped using my eyes and relaxed myself as the wind blew my hair and clothes. Finally, after what seemed like an entire minute a Griffon came close and dived after me like an eagle with its wicked claws extended. I put my hands behind my head in a relaxed position and didn't give the creature much thought.

And why would I? I was only the bait after all.

As if it heard my thoughts a white arrow struck the Griffon in the chest and knocked it off course. The creature shrieked in pain as it was slowly petrified before the Fire Dust in the arrow head detonated and shattered the impromptu gargoyle apart.

Wait, what? How did Summer do that?

Wailing from behind me made me turn around and witness a similar arrow flying towards another diving Griffon. This time I chose to observe the arrow and realized that it wasn't the shaft itself that was white, but rather the fire it was coated in. The arrow hit true and the Grimm shrieked in pain as the freshly petrified parts of its body were rapidly melted and electrocuted by the Lightning Dust in the arrow.

…

I've got to learn how to do that.

Loud cawing from behind me surprised me and I was shocked to see a massive claw protruding from my chest… for about one whole second as what looked to be the Alpha of the group passed through me with effortless ease.

I really don't know if I should be proud about being the perfect bait…

The large Alpha quickly regained its bearings and attempted another dive at me, only for another arrow to strike the side of its head. This time the flaming arrow tore apart the Grimm's head in an explosion of ice, then like the shrapnel of a grenade the flaming ice crystals expanded in all directions and struck at least half a dozen other Griffons. The white flames instantly turned the creatures into falling statues.

The rest of my fall went by like that, whatever intelligence the Griffons might have possessed was pushed aside in their berserker-like state, and so they flocked to me like moths to a flame, completely unaware or just uncaring to the danger below.

Eventually only one of the flying menaces remained and seeing as the tree canopies were rapidly closing in I let out a sigh and took out a single Inferno knife. It began its deep dive at me and I waited until we were just about to hit the ground, then I flicked the knife upwards and warped myself away into Kamui within a split second. The Griffon impacted the ground harshly and no doubt suffered heavy injuries, but what sealed its fate was the rapidly expanding ball of hellfire that engulfed it a moment after impact.

A Kamui vortex deposited me besides Summer and I stretched my arms tiredly. Another little detail about Kamui that I remembered was that I could control the ejection speed of objects, including myself. This allowed me in this case to bleed off the excess momentum of my fall entirely.

How's that for a landing strategy?

"How did you do that with your arrows?! Can you show me?! I want to do it too!" I jumped up to Summer excitedly. My mind was swimming with ideas on how I could incorporate it with my knives and other future weapons.

"It's another aspect of our gift I found out after some experimenting back when I was younger," she giggled at my enthusiasm. "But you can't learn it yet." And just like that, my dreams were crushed.

"What? Why?" I asked with a heart broken expression.

"Your eyes are not strong enough for it yet, but don't worry, give it a few years and you'll be there," she consoled me with a pat on the shoulder.

"My eyes are plenty strong," I huffed indignantly, just because I can't flash-freeze a Leviathan doesn't mean my eyes are weak.

"You can't rush basic biology Caryll, I'm already amazed that it's even possible to awaken our eyes so soon. Do you know how old I was when I awakened mine?" At my inquisitive expression she continued, "I was fourteen, and even then my father told me that our family's previous record was sixteen." I blinked in surprise at that and frowned in thought, maybe she was right… there are some things that just take time and patience.

"Alright… but you'd better show me how it works when the time comes." Waiting wasn't anything new to me, a couple more years wasn't going to be the end of the world.

"Talk to me when you can petrify a Giant Nevermore," she ruffled my hair affectionately while my lips twitched into a small smile. "But I have another thing I have to give to you!" She declared and stepped back to take out something from under her white cloak.

"Congratulations on your first successful mission!" She said cheerily and handed me a large folded piece of clothing. I blinked in surprise and unfolded the present.

"A travelling cloak?" I asked out loud as I examined the full-body hooded cloak in my hands.

"Mhmm, I got mine after my first successful mission too and I thought you would appreciate one as well" She nodded in confirmation. I smiled happily in response and threw it over my shoulders and checked out how it looked on me. The outside of the cloak was of a light silver color while the inside was all black, all in all perfectly matching with my overall color scheme to the letter. The cloak reached down to the middle of my calves and the hood itself was spacious enough to be comfortable for me.

"I love it… thanks m-Summer" I said sincerely. While I disliked capes and other unnecessary pieces of clothing like that, as they only got in the way during a fight and could seriously jeopardize your safety, travelling cloaks were actually useful in some circumstances. They can provide protection against all the elements like rain, heat and snow if I ever decide to visit Vacuo or Atlas.

Plus, rule of cool. Can't forget that.

"You're very welcome," she beamed a megawatt smile at me before looking around tiredly. She let her shoulders sag in exhaustion, then looked back at me with a calculative expression that turned into a grin soon after.

"What-?" I began cautiously, only for her to slouch over and fall on top of me like a sack of potatoes. "I don't want to wait for a Bullhead," she whined while I grunted under the sudden strain. "Take us home, my minion!" She instructed in her 'leader' voice as she rested her head on mine. I snorted and let ourselves be enveloped in a Kamui vortex that transported us back home.

* * *

"We're back!" Summer announced as soon as they stepped inside the house. It wasn't that late as the sun only just now dipped below the horizon, so she wasn't afraid of waking up the girls. Tai was probably playing with them right now or was in the process of tucking them in before grading tests from Signal. She didn't know where Qrow was now exactly, her poor teammate has been run ragged with the amount of missions he was assigned by Ozpin. Summer herself would have gladly helped her friend with the workload, but even she knew that she would only hold back her avian teammate in his scouting missions. She was mainly suited for combat missions, that's where she earned her name after all, and even she would admit that subtlety… wasn't her strong suit.

"Mommy!" Her mood immediately lifted when she heard her littlest's voice. Sure enough the small, three years old frame of Ruby rounded the corner leading to the living room with a huge smile plastered on her face. Summer didn't hesitate to open her arms and bend down slightly to catch the charging little Rose.

"Hey there, little petal." She picked up her little gem and planted a kiss on her cheek. Little Ruby blushed like her namesake and enveloped her neck in an affectionate hug.

"Mom! 'Ryl!" She heard her eldest daughter call out and subsequently charge her elder brother. Caryll reacted somewhat similarly to her and opened his arms to embrace the young blonde. He grunted a bit at the impact but managed to remain standing despite his exhausted state.

"Hey Yang, did you do what I asked you to?" She heard her eldest whisper conspiratorially to Yang. What were they up to this time? She swears those two always cause some form of ruckus one way or the other. The worst part was that she couldn't even pin it on Caryll corrupting her little sister, not entirely at least, as Yang is the one who initiates things half the time.

"Mhmm, the grand master plan is done!" She nodded eagerly and Summer found herself narrowing her eyes in suspicion. She was about to voice her concerns when her husband rounded the corner with the biggest 'I'm too old/tired for this' expression on his face.

Plus with a few gallons of whipped cream spread over his body and clothes.

"Should I even ask?" She tried to hide her giggle with a hand over her mouth. Tai's tired expression told her everything she needed to know, he was done with the world for this evening.

"Quick Yang, now or never!" Caryll whispered loudly and gave a… cherry to Yang. The little blonde took the fruit with a grin and ran over to her father. She then expertly climbed on top of the couch next to him and placed the cherry on top of Tai's head.

This time she didn't even try to hide her laughter and was soon joined by the soft giggles of Ruby. Caryll broke the moment with a flash of his scroll and the two older siblings high-fived while declaring a 'mission successful'.

Her poor husband let out a deep sigh. "We can talk about your mission when we're in bed… I think I'll spend the next two hours in the shower," he stated and sauntered over to the bathroom.

"You two know that there will be hell to pay tomorrow, right?" She asked when she managed to regain her composure, though her lips still twitched when she pictured Tai like that.

"Only if you can catch us," Caryll countered with a grin and she sighed internally, as his siblings discovered while playing hide and seek or tag Caryll can be quite… elusive to say the least. She had no doubt she could catch her son if it really came down to it, but he could always just retreat to his weird refuge and live there for who knows how long. With the things he conjures up out of thin air she wouldn't be surprised if he had an entire house there.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Ruby wiggling in her arms. She focused back on the real world and saw that Caryll was holding out a strawberry to her.

"…Are you trying to bribe me?" She asked with an amused expression.

"Depends, is it working?" He asked with a similar smile on his face. She rolled her eyes and took the sweet fruit from him. There was really no point in punishing Caryll, with him being only four years younger than herself, even if he sometimes acted like a real kid his age she knew he only did it for his sisters' sake. She gave the strawberry to Ruby, who gladly took it and began devouring it like a starved Beowolf, besides she knew what Caryll was trying to achieve with these pranks.

She looked back up and saw Caryll offering another strawberry to Yang, who was already eating at least five of them at the same time. She chuckled at the scene, it was clear that the girls looked up to him, in the case of Yang it was pretty obvious while Ruby did it with more subtlety, a copied gesture or mannerism here and there or just simple attempts to get him to play with one of them.

Caryll knew it too, she could discern that the pranks with Yang were to focus the blonde's limitless energy on a single goal at a time and to improve her analytical mind. She didn't know how Caryll knew it would be so successful, it was as if he just knew how her personality would develop overtime and planned accordingly… but in the end it didn't matter, despite the pair being a handful to deal with on a daily basis, as her dear husband could attest, Caryll was a positive influence on Yang.

Ruby on the other hand was an enigma. She had no doubt that Caryll knew about her subtle admiration too, he's too perceptive to not notice such things, but he remained strangely inactive in the matter. In contrast to his treatment of Yang, he didn't do anything obvious to influence his youngest sister. She was sure it wasn't favoritism as he would spend time with both almost equally and his smiles seemed too genuine to be fake. Perhaps he was just biding his time, after all Ruby only now reached the age where her curiosity and energy would run rampant.

Speaking of the little gem in their household she seemed to want to run on her own. Summer kissed her cheek once more and let her down. Ruby immediately ran to Caryll and demanded a strawberry. Caryll chuckled and gave her another one from his cloak. The fruit vanished in her mouth in a split second and soon enough both of her daughters were demanding more and more of the sweet fruit… what was odd was that Caryll didn't seem to run out of them.

"Caryll sweetie, where did you get this many strawberries?" She asked with a dangerous edge to her voice, she didn't remember buying any in the past week and Caryll was often away to train in his pocket dimension or whatever he called it.

"Well, you see… I got a bit hungry while killing all those Grimm near the farm," he admitted sheepishly. "Soo I may have borrowed a few strawberries for the trip." He flinched as her piercing silver eyes bore into his. She was always told that her eyes had that effect on people, and she was intent on using it to the fullest extent.

"Caryll, out with them, now," she commanded and saw her son hesitate. A full on glare later Caryll sighed in defeat and looked at his sisters. A red vortex opened from his right eye and deposited… at least a thousand strawberries on top of the girls in a large heap.

…

…

Yang and Ruby burst out from the pile while vigorously chewing on even more of the fruit.

…

…

"No more pocket money for an entire year."

"I don't even get pocket money!"

"Now you know why."

* * *

The slight creaking of my door woke me up from my sleep. I blearily opened my eyes and looked around my dark room for the source of the disturbance, the beam of light from my slightly ajar door caught my attention and made me realize that someone was in the doorway.

"Ruby? Is that you?" I blinked away my sleepiness and propped myself up on my elbows. In my doorway stood in her little pajamas the small form of my youngest sister. A bit of squinting revealed a book in her hands.

"You can't sleep?" I guessed and she nodded. "Mommy and Daddy are 'sleep, but…" she answered quietly. Judging by the book in her hands she wanted a bedtime story, Summer and Tai had a long day so they were probably out like a light and forgot to tuck her in properly, then there was Yang who couldn't read yet, so it seemed like I was her only option right now.

"Come here," I sighed and pulled over my blanket for her to lie next to me. She nodded eagerly and made to settle beside me. I took away the book and grabbed my scroll to illuminate the pages.

"Which is your favorite?" I asked once she settled down beside me and snuggled into my side.

"…The one with the girl and the tower," she told me after a second.

"Oh, why that one?" I asked curiously, not really expecting the answer. Ruby shuffled beside me before answering.

"The hero is shoo kind… he does what's right just 'cause it's right," her tone carried admiration. "Everyone wins at the end too," she added with an adorable smile.

"He does seem like a nice person," I agreed with a mirthful expression and began the story once I've found it in the table of contents. "Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower…"

* * *

"… And they lived happily ever after," I finished the long tale quietly, fully expecting to find a sleeping Ruby next to me, but to my surprise she was wide awake and hanging onto every word I said.

"I want 'nother!" She demanded enthusiastically. I blinked in surprise at her perseverance but obeyed nonetheless.

"Alright, do you have any other favorites?" I asked again as I turned the pages.

"The one with four maidens!" She responded happily and I didn't even need to ask what she liked about that one as she explained it without prompting, "I like the shelflessness of the maidens and how they help 'veryone in need!" I nodded with a smile and began the story. "Deep in the forests of Remnant, beside a great and mighty river…"

* * *

"…They promised to return every year to visit their dear friend," I finished once again and turned to see a half lidded Ruby staring at the pages of the book.

"I want 'nother…" She slurred, desperately trying to stay awake. I shook my head and put the book away, it was obvious she wasn't going to last another minute awake. I turned off the flashlight on my scroll and pulled up my blanket to cover us.

"'Ryl…" I heard her say in the darkness.

"Yes, Ruby?"

"I wanna be like the heroes in the books. I wanna be a Hunter like you and Mommy."

…

"I'm not a hero, Ruby. Heroes fight to protect the world, I fight to change it."

"Oh… then what are you?"

"I'm your brother silly, and that's all there's to it."

"..."

"But I think… I know that if that's your dream you'll be the biggest hero of them all."

"Really? You mean it?"

"Yes, and I'll always help you along the way."

"…Thanks."

"Mhmm, goodnight Ruby."

"Goodnight 'Ryl…"

* * *

"Oh, that's like a cat!" Lily pointed at the sky. I looked over where she was pointing and scrunched my face in concentration.

"I think that's more like a fox actually, see its tail?" I countered and pointed at the bushy tail-like cloud.

"Hmm, you're right! I like foxes better anyway," she declared happily and I snorted amusedly, who would have guessed? We descended into a comfortable silence and continued our cloud watching for who knows how long.

"Hey Lily," I spoke up when I gathered enough courage to initiate what would undoubtedly be a… heavy conversation.

"Hmm?" She hummed in response, hand behind her head and looking up at the blue sky.

"What is your sister like?" I asked at last, breaching a topic that was kind of taboo for her. She has told me about her parents a couple of times before but never her sister. Silence reigned for a good minute between us and I was beginning to think that she was ignoring the question, but she spoke up in a quiet voice.

"She-… Iris was… is the best sister ever. We would always spend time outside and take care of our garden…" She told me, still looking upwards with a slight tremble to her lips. "She was the one who taught me about flowers and other plants." I listened silently, feeling like making any comment would be inappropriate.

"S-she showed me that there are things behind pretty flowers that you simply can't speak out loud, just because there aren't words for them, you know?" She said with tears in her eyes. "She even bought me my first book on gardening and read it for me when she realized I couldn't read yet…" She looked upwards with glassy eyes.

"…You must miss her a lot," I noted sympathetically. "I know I would if I somehow lost my Mom or Raven." I told her and looked back up.

"I don't know how you could consider a hag like her family." I saw her scowl from the corner of my eyes.

"I think of her as family for the same reason I think of you as my best friend," I told her with a shrug. She looked at me with a puzzled expression and I continued, "when I look at Raven I don't look at what she is, but rather what she could be," I explained it to her and tilted my head in her direction. "You're right that now Raven is hardly more than a terrible person that deserves to be locked away or worse. But if I look past that I can see what she could become in the future, if only she just worked for it. You two actually have a lot more in common than you think," I remarked thoughtfully.

"I'm nothing like that old wench," She huffed haughtily.

"Believe it or not Raven was wrapped up in some big fight alongside her family and friends a long time ago. She fought for what was right, had a daughter, who's my little sister now, and was generally happy with life. Then one day she learnt that they couldn't win, do you know what she did then?" I asked Lily, who despite not being happy in the least with the topic was at least willing to hear me out. "She ran. She left her friends, her family, even her own daughter behind just because she was scared. She is a coward." I sat up and turned to look at her in the eye.

"Like you," I stated with perfect calmness.

"W-what?!" She stuttered, shocked that I would even accuse her of something like this.

I nodded in confirmation. "You told me that you were happy with your family and that you love them dearly, but when they took them away you just ran. Understandable as you really couldn't do anything at the time, but later when people offered the means to help you take back your family… you cried and ran away. Then when Raven found you in the wilderness she offered you a place and a means to rescue your family, yet you denied her and cried," I told her in a stone cold monotone, I really didn't enjoy doing this, but it had to be said. "Tell me, if I hadn't shown up, what would have you done?" I asked rhetorically since we both knew the answer.

"I-I don't want to fight!" She bolted upwards and protested with tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

"And you want to see your family again. They are probably still out there, waiting for you to rescue them. You have the potential to do it and yet you are wasting your days away running away just like the woman you hate so much. You are a coward," I reasoned coldly with an impassive face, but on the inside I wanted nothing more than to hug the crying girl.

"I-I'm not a coward!" She cried defensively with hurt in her eyes.

"You can keep telling yourself that, but it doesn't change the fact that you're doing nothing to even remotely help your family," I countered harshly. That did it and Lily broke down into a crying mess right beside me. Gods, if Summer saw me right now she would kill me…

"…But I see what you could become, not a coward but an amazing girl with a golden heart," I began slowly as she kept crying. "You have the potential to save your family and do so much more. You just have to work for it and it will become a reality," I put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "That's why when I look at you I can see my best friend." I finally allowed myself a small smile. Lily glanced at me and briefly met my eyes, before darting away elsewhere.

"I-I don't think I c-can…" She choked, breathing unevenly. "I w-want them back s-so much, but I'm so s-scared…" She hiccupped and looked at the ground shamefully.

"That's why I'm here, dummy." I poked her in the forehead. "Friends help each other when they're in trouble. So when you decide to save your family I'll be right beside you." She looked up weakly to see me smiling encouragingly. "And if that's still not enough for you, I'm sure the tribe would also help out one of their own if asked," I continued in a suggestive manner.

"I d-don't need the help of those murderers," she stuttered in denial, I hummed in acknowledgement and gazed at the snowy mountains in the distance.

"A little bird once told me that they were once good people doing what was right. As you can see they have changed since… but I believe that they have the potential to change their ways and become their best selves again, they just need someone to push them in the right direction," I stated as I reminisced on my conversation with Raven, "I'm willing to give them a chance… You should too."

We once again fell into silence, this time it wasn't exactly like the previous peaceful, comfortable silence, but rather a more thoughtful one. I thought over our conversation in my head and sighed internally. I've been a bit… cruel in my methods but I only had one shot at this as failure would mean that Lily wouldn't have listened to me again if I brought this topic back up in the future. Lily meanwhile was hugging her knees while wiping away her tears with her sleeves.

"I-I'm not a coward," She said quietly as she sniffled. I perked up at this and looked back at her, only to see her still staring at the ground. "I d-don't want to be a coward. I want to go h-home and hug Mom and Dad. I want to play with big sis again." Lily finally held her head up high and looked me in the eyes. "I want to save them. I want to fight," She declared with puffy cheeks and I broke out into a heartfelt smile and offered her a hug. She didn't waste a second and tackled me to the ground. I would never lie to her or anyone else, I just wanted to make her see that even if our world was cruel and unforgiving, she shouldn't despair and lose her passion towards the things she loves. So what if she and her family got marked for death just because one day she woke up as the next Spring Maiden? She had the power to fight back, she just had to realize that.

"You know we'll have to talk to Raven now, right?" I reminded her half-jokingly only for her to clam up immediately and generally look a lot less confident.

* * *

Raven let the portal behind her close and fade away. She has just finished scouting out their next raid target, it wasn't anything special, just another nameless Frontier town that no one would even notice missing. Internally she was already making and discarding several plans of attack they could execute when she caught sight of her annoying self-proclaimed godson/nephew and his obnoxious little friend walking towards her.

The pair walked with a false sense of confidence, or at least the little Spring Maiden did, Caryll seemed nonchalant as ever. However, he did have an arm over the girl's shoulders in a supportive manner, interesting. She looked over to the girl in question and raised a half-interested eyebrow, judging by the redness in her cheeks and eyes she had been crying. Her posture seemed skittish at best and outright scared at worst as well.

What were they up to now?

Raven halted in her march and faced the two approaching brats with crossed arms.

"Brat, training isn't for another two hours, what do you want?" She called harshly once they were close enough to initiate a conversation. The girl bristled at her tone but Caryll just adopted his usual expression that always radiated an air of smugness and obnoxious happiness.

"I want nothing from you." Her eyes twitched at his causal insult. "But Lily wants to say something to you," he gestured to his companion as they separated. Her mind took a moment to process his words and she turned to regard the small girl interestedly. Had the brat managed finally convince his friend?

"Well? I'm listening." She crossed her arms and looked at her expectantly.

"I w-want to fight. I want to be strong," the girl stated resolutely.

"Oh, is that so?" She stared intensely at her in challenge. The young girl was shivering under her gaze like a leaf in the wind and averted her eyes from hers. Raven narrowed her eyes in annoyance and placed a hand on her odachi in a threatening manner. If she wasn't even brave enough to look her in the eye, then she didn't deserve to live amongst them.

However, before anything could've happened Caryll placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl glanced to the side and saw him giving an encouraging nod. The girl nodded back tentatively and slowly lifted her head to meet Raven's gaze. This time she managed to shakily hold eye contact with her for a few scarce moments. She could even see some sparks directed at her beneath all the unease and fright.

…

…

Raven wasn't impressed. Even with support the girl was clearly intimidated by her presence. She still reminded her of a rabbit staring down the barrel of a rifle and her hands were balled into shaking fists of fear, not fury.

Pathetic, really.

…

"Very well." She eased her posture and lessened her near permanent sneer. The girl… Lily blinked in momentary confusion at the quick change in attitude and even Caryll seemed mildly surprised.

The girl was far from good, gods she barely even passed for adequate, but that small fire in her eyes pointed to a form of passion, a passion she could work with and forge into something useful and deadly.

And as unbearable her nephew was, he still managed to spark that flame in her. Who knows, maybe if she let him influence her even more the girl could become something more than passable… or even something like himself…

On second thought, she really didn't need another mini-monster running around.

"Meet us behind my tent in two hours. From now on you're participating in our training sessions," she instructed the relieved looking girl in a brisk manner. "But know that if I find you slacking off in any way I will not hesitate to end you where you stand," she glared fiercely in warning, it was a threat she fully intended to carry out, her time was valuable and there would be hell to pay if she found her just playing around.

"Y-yes m-ma'am", Lily nodded hastily, expression positively terrified, good.

"As for you." Raven turned to regard Caryll who perked up at being directly addressed. "…You kept your end of the bargain and I'm a woman of my word," she sighed unhappily, even if he secured the Maiden for her, she didn't like to be in debt to anyone. "Use your favor as you see fit, within reason," she added quickly after a moment of thought. "Now, if that'll be all…" She said dismissively and turned to walk away but the voice of Caryll stopped her.

"Actually… there is something." She turned around to see him with an obviously fake thinking expression. By now she was confident she could see through whatever façade he would put up.

"What is it?" She asked suspiciously, knowing him it couldn't have been anything good. He grinned at her and an intangible vortex deposited an ornate looking object in his hand. Focusing her gaze at it she-

Her whole being froze when she realized what she was looking at.

"Would you share a drink with me?" Caryll asked innocently as he brought out one of his knives while holding a golden chalice in his offhand. Her mind went into overdrive again and numerous images flashed in her mind one after the other, further confirming her suspicions.

How he asked about their culture.

How he kept asking about the tribe's history.

How he pestered her about her family.

So that was his game all this time.

That pesky, cunning little bastard.

"Why?" She snarled with venom lacing her voice.

"Why what?" He tilted his head to the side in what seemed to be genuine curiosity.

"Why are you acting this familiar with me? Why are you trying to get closer to me time after time?! Why are you so fixated on me?!" She demanded heatedly, also managing to draw some attention from the other tribe members in the process. She didn't get an answer as Caryll remained in silence as he impassively regarded her furious expression.

"Uhm, I'm sorry but could one of you tell me what's going on?" Lily asked awkwardly from the side.

"It's simple really, Raven refuses to consider me family even with evidence to the contrary… So, I just bargained off a favor from her and I'm using it right now to enter a blood oath with her," Caryll explained with an infuriating small smile that reminded her of his mother's.

"Ohh… and what's that?" Lily responded obliviously.

"Those who take a blood oath together swear their undying loyalty to each other." It was Raven who answered her with barely contained anger. "The oath also formally binds their bloodlines together, marking them as family to the world," she spat disdainfully.

"Quite the simple pact, but quite unbreakable in Mistralian culture," he grinned widely. "And no Lily, due to our age difference it's not considered marriage or anything like that. We just sorta adopt each other into our families," he sighed preemptively once he saw Lily opening her mouth to ask another question. She promptly closed her mouth again.

"As for your question…" He turned to Raven once more with a noticeably more serious gaze. "Remember what I first said to you when we met for the first time? Well… I've changed my mind, I've actually changed my mind about a few things, but I think it's safe to say that I've come to care about you like I care about Mom or Yang…" He trailed off while looking to the side. He then chuckled and regarded her with mirth in his eyes.

"Then I've come to realize that we Roses have a pesky little trait that compels us to bring the best out of the people we're close to. Mom did it with Uncle Qrow and Tai, unfortunately you ran off before she could finish her work," he rolled his mirrored eyes and smiled warmly. "She told me what you were like in Beacon and what she saw in you… After getting to know you, I can definitely say that I agree with her… So here I am, trying to finish what she started…" He shrugged with an amused expression.

"So you can throw us away, abandon us or run to the end of Remnant in fear all you want, but know that we'll just follow after." For a moment she swore he looked just like his mother with his expression and bright cloak. "We'll never give up on you, whether you like it or not," he declared with unblinking, steely eyes. A tense silence descended over the camp as their little talk and stare-off attracted a small crowd of onlookers, Lily especially looked like she wanted to be literally anywhere else.

…

…

This obnoxious, arrogant, detestable… brat.

She swiped the chalice and knife from his hands, ignoring the nagging feeling that the former was from their treasury, and made a swift cut on her palm. She held the bleeding wound over the chalice while lightly glaring ahead.

"With this we're even," she stated curtly to a grinning Caryll, who nodded eagerly in response. Once she deemed the amount of blood adequate she gave the chalice to Caryll and let her Aura wash over the wound and seal it shut.

"So can my name be Rose-Branwen from now on?" He asked cheekily as he followed her example and bled his cut palm over the chalice.

"Don't push your luck brat," she warned him icily. "We have more than enough witnesses to validate the pact and I don't care about the formalities so just get on with it." Caryll chuckled at her annoyed tone and took a gulp of their mixed blood.

"But it has such a nice ring to it!" He whined weakly as he handed the chalice over to her. A venomous glare from her promptly shut him up. She gazed at her reflection in the blood and sighed inaudibly, her self-… godson, her godson would someday be the death of her, she was sure of that. She lifted the chalice to her mouth and drank the remaining bitter fluid resignedly.

The gathered crowd began clapping and cheering in celebration, much to the confusion of Caryll and Lily.

"Uhh, why are they cheering?" Caryll asked awkwardly. Raven lowered the now empty chalice and regarded her godson with confusion.

"Honorary family member or not, I just-as-good as adopted you," she explained to the still confused looking duo.

"So what? You changed your mind about me calling you mom?" …Must not murder Summer's brat, must not murder Summer's brat, she recited in her mind until something occurred to her. "You… learned from that book I saw you with, didn't you?" At his hesitant nod she continued. "You didn't even finish it did you?" She asked blandly.

"I only read the parts that seemed important," he admitted shamelessly.

…

Somehow, whenever she thinks he can't remind her more of her ex-team leader and friend, he just goes ahead and does it anyway.

She massaged the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache coming. "…Adopted or not you just gained a claim to be the next chieftain with your stunt," she explained calmly to an increasingly paler looking Caryll. "They are cheering you on because unless Yang takes up the position you'll be the only other candidate remaining." She could pinpoint the exact moment when the reality of his situation dawned on him.

"Oh…" Her godson mumbled intelligently with a thousand yard stare.

* * *

_A bit of a longer AN, because… well, a lot happened this chapter as I had to tie up a few loose ends and introduce new ones before we end Act 1._

_Team combos with Summer and Caryll, I also have a few others planned once I reveal_ _Summer's Semblance._

_Whew, the last two scenes took up two thirds of my overall writing time, this is like… my fourth draft for them? Anyway, I hope it was enjoyable, I had to rewrite/rephrase them so many times just because they didn't feel right to read…_

_Regarding the white flames I always envisioned the light/fire (at the battle of Beacon when Ruby first uses her eyes the light looks like malleable fire) of the Silver Eyes as the polar opposite of the violet fire used by the God of Darkness. That flame only killed humans while the Silver Eyes only harm Grimm, what's more is that their effect is pretty much the same on their respective victims (nuclear flash that only leaves ashes behind or petrification on lower levels, granted we don't see GoD petrify anyone, but then again he was eradicating humanity so I think we can agree he didn't intend to do things halfway). In the show we only see the omni-directional flashbang mode being used so I made the precise control of the flames a sort of 'end-game' for the Silver Eyes, or the pinnacle of what they can achieve at their full potential._

_So, is Caryll not a hero? Is he some morally grey edgy character? No, I will say that now that Caryll is a hero, I actually plan on representing multiple hero archetypes in the story and Caryll will be one of them.  
Lily is our reluctant hero who is only trying to save her family.  
Ruby is our good old paragon of virtue that we see in the show.  
And Caryll? Well, so far the way I portrayed him might paint him as an OP Protagonist, and I'm fully aware of that, but this OPness can wonderfully lead into my favorite hero archetype that I… won't share with you guys, I'm open to theories on your part but I'll remain tight lipped about it until we reach the point in the story where it becomes obvious._

_Shit, I had to watch RWBY Chibi for an hour straight after writing the bit with Lily so that I could feel less shitty about myself. Then Indomitable had to drop and I successfully managed to both exhaust my tissue reserves and binge watch RWBY Chibi 2 times._

_Also, random useless trivia fact for the day: Lilies symbolize purity, passion and sweetness among other things._

_So, is Caryll a Stargazer (Summer x Raven) baby? Eh, kinda._

_Physically? No. Emotionally? Depends on how you look at it.  
While there's nothing going on between Summer and Raven in this story apart from being ex-best friends, they are what Caryll views as parental figures, or at least the closest equivalent to the term as right now he would never admit the former on his own. He may be a 29 year old adult at this point in the story but even adults can influence each other and pick up each other's traits, Summer and Raven being mentor figures to him only drives this point further. He clearly cares about them and even picked up an unholy combination of their more prominent traits._

_What do I mean by that? Well look at his interactions with everyone, he inherited his moral compass from Summer with the cold determination of Raven. Or another example would be the social understanding displayed by Summer and the calculative mind of Raven. These are generally useful if not positive traits, but what about the negatives?_

_From the fight with the Wyvern you could remember that Caryll didn't give a damn about dying again. He was already pretty selfless even before he got to know Summer, but after that his selflessness amplified to a level that is frankly scary and just plain wrong. Then there is his pride/arrogance that only grew under Raven's influence. How does this manifest? Remember how he only accepted Summer's help only where it was absolutely necessary at first? Or how he is literally waiting years to buy/make his own weapon rather than simply ask Summer to help him out? Or how he basically shit-talks people who are way stronger than him (basically all of his encounters with Raven) just because he thinks he's untouchable? These are subtle things at first but will pile up as time goes on._

_These combinations of traits may look weird at first but they do make sense after a while and are really interesting to write._

_Next chapter is the finale of Act 1!_

_Omakes:_

_Caryll: *gives up all the strawberries*  
Caryll: Oh, uhh….*fumbles with a few random hand-signs in quick succession* Secret Rose Style: Strawberry Whirlwind Nimbus Dance!  
Ruby/Yang/Summer: …What?  
Caryll: Oh it's just that a lot of readers always draw parallels between Naruto and anything I do… So, I decided to just embrace it and channel my inner Minato *dons a white haori that has Yondaime Rosekage written on it*  
Ruby/Yang/Summer: …Can I have a cloak like that? / That's an awesome name! / …Please never do that again._

_Caryll: *warps inside Yang's room, startling her*  
Little Yang: 'Ryl! Where were you- *A completely mortified looking Caryll grabs Yang and warps her away to the Branwen Tribe, right in front of Raven*  
Caryll: Raven, this is Yang, your daughter, I'm sure you'll get along just fine. Yang this is Raven, your birth mother, she's a bit rough around the edges but she'll warm up to you in no time, she'll teach you all about kicking ass and being a leader. Now be a good girl and I'll come back and pick you up later, okay? Bye! *warps away*  
Yang/Raven:…  
Yang/Raven: I have two mommies? / I will skin that brat alive._

_**Reviews:**_

_merendinoemiliano: Ask and you shall receive, furthermore the next chapter will almost entirely be Summer/Caryll interaction as we reach the end of Act 1. Think of it like chapter 5, but with significant plot development._

_Blaze2121: Training arc is just about done, strap in for the meat of the story._

_3-13 Sniper: I did say sword fighting techniques lol._

_Chesire1999: The people of the kingdoms will notice the more notorious ones disappearing because as you'll see later on, you can't exactly stealth kill a Titan, but the other less known ones will only be noticed by the people in Frontier settlements. I can actually envision rumors or legends forming around a cloaked and masked man/spirit going around Remnant and killing Titans, who can disappear in the blink of an eye, only to be seen on the other side of the world._

_riveg: Uhh… *quickly googles what you're talking about* I guess? I'm really not sure, I haven't seen Hitman: reborn at all but you'll get your answer this chapter nonetheless._

_Guest: Not really, Tsukuyomi only creates an illusion world where the caster has total control over everything. Physical damage done to the victim doesn't transfer over to the real world, only the inflicted pain does. This can still kill you, but without any real bodily harm._

_Nightmare Fog on the other hand is entirely real. It doesn't create a new world, it infects the real one with its smoke and converts it into a sick and twisted version of the victim's psyche.  
That's why I named it Nightmare Fog.  
The only thing that's similar between NF and Tsukuyomi is that the user/caster can manipulate it however they want it to. In NF's case it can manifest in limited space and time manipulation; like a room that's bigger on the inside than on the outside and slowed down time sort of deal._

_Is it OP? Hell Yes. Is it infallible? No, like Caryll said; no Semblance is perfect and all have at least one weak point that can negate their advantages, Eileen just had decades to master NF and hide its weaknesses._

_If you really want to compare it to something then I would say it's Silent Hill in Semblance form. Also funnily enough, when I was creating Eileen's character at first I considered giving her an Izanami-esque Semblance but then quickly scrapped the idea as the basic concept of being able to cast an ability like Izanami multiple times in quick succession without consequence is just plain broken._

_Ander warrior: I'll say that S isn't from Bloodborne, but from RWBY itself and for an explanation of Nightmare Fog you should check out the previous review response._

_Guest: No, he won't be using those, but given his genius and creative mind Caryll can achieve surprisingly much with those knives of his._

_Other guests/well-wishers: Thank you guys!_

_Until next time._


	10. Chapter 10

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the tenth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. Is this some sort of milestone? I don't really know, but I would like to say that I just got back from vacation last Friday, so yeah, the short hiatus is over people. I guess I lied too? This chapter isn't the last one of Act 1, I originally intended it to be that, but then I looked at the word counter, saw that it was almost longer than the previous two combined, and decided to just split it in two. You could say it's the same thing that happened with chapter 8._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. OCs are mine though._

* * *

**Chapter 10: Venator**

Taiyang Xiao Long was a happy man. He had a beautiful and loving wife, two precious daughters and an eccentric and quirky stepson. Though the situation unfolding before him made him question whether the last point on his list was a good thing for his health.

Caryll was a… unique child, don't get him wrong he loved the kid like he was his own, but sometimes he had to double check that he was indeed talking to a 10 year old and not a colleague from work that looked like Summer's mini-me.

He was happy that he could call himself his stepfather but he couldn't help but worry sometimes about his rapid development. He didn't go out to play with other kids his age, instead he would disappear for hours and hours on end to train like a professional Hunter in their prime. Whenever he sees Caryll in their shed tinkering with something he would smile and approach him, thinking he was messing with a bicycle or something, only to see the small 10 year old cutting exotic Dust crystals into shape, just so he could experiment with them, or calibrating a recurve bow. The only time he ever sees him acting like a kid his age should is when he is with his sisters, and even then he doesn't smile because he enjoys the game they are playing, but rather because he sees that his sisters are happy, that's what makes him smile.

Then one day out of the blue he asked if he could get a dog, no prompting or any previous indication given. At first he was surprised when he heard him, he thought that maybe he was trying to get some of his childhood back by having something as simple as a pet to play around with. He readily agreed then, happy that his stepson was maybe clinging onto some form of normalcy, but then he explained it to them that he simply wanted a hunting partner that could help him with tracking. The reasoning itself was sound and Hunters having hunting partners wasn't unheard of in their profession, but he couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh after hearing him out.

He had no doubt about his ability to take care of something as simple as a dog, gods if he was really honest with himself it felt like the girls had three parents in the house instead of just two…

He was happy that his stepson could be so responsible but it also filled him with sadness and worry that he just… grew up so fast.

At hearing his nephew's request Qrow, his brother in all but blood, was quick to offer his assistance and say that he 'knew a guy' who could help them out. With their blessing the duo departed and came back a few hours later with a dog carrier that was now in the middle of their living room. When he asked what breed they chose Caryll and Qrow shared a mirthful look, as if they tried not to laugh at a personal joke and opened the cage to let the dog out. He and his daughters were seated on the couch with anticipation filled expressions, eager to meet the new addition to their family, no matter how scary or unfriendly-

A black-grey-white Corgi walked out leisurely form its cage with its tongue lolling out.

Not an Atlesian Shepherd, not an Argusian Foxhound.

A Corgi.

…Caryll was truly a unique child, he just sometimes couldn't decide if that was worrying or inspiring.

The small dog, probably no older than two years judging from its size and breed, stopped in the middle of the carpet, wagged its tail at seeing them and sat down with its head tilted to the side.

Bark!

"So Cuute!" Ruby and Yang practically pounced at the small canine, showering the docile dog in affection in the form of tummy rubs and ear scratches. He watched his girls amusedly for a few moments before turning his attention to Qrow.

"A hunting Corgi?" He asked dubiously. He was glad they chose a friendlier breed, but it wasn't exactly a hunting type.

"It was the kid's idea. Wouldn't even look at other dogs, just this one," Qrow shrugged in explanation.

"Oh relax, I know exactly what I'm doing!" Caryll supplied cheerfully once he noticed his questioning expression.

"I'm with short-stack on this one, I can actually see his reasoning… for once," Qrow muttered the last part under his breath. "Dog's actually gotten training to be a hunting dog from his previous owner. Don't know why, don't really care, but we agreed that this could be a good middle ground between family and hunting dog," Qrow explained their decision making process. Tai hummed in thought and nodded in appreciation, he did feel better about the girls having a somewhat harmless dog to play around with.

"So, Caryll. What name did you have in mind for it? It's your dog after all," he asked with a smile as they looked at the trio playing on the ground. Caryll blinked at the question and seemed to be in thought for a while.

"…Zwei," he declared after a minute or so. Tai and Qrow looked at him questioningly at the odd name so he decided to elaborate, "…he did just drop into our family from his previous one, second family, basically second life, so second name as well-"

Bark!

Caryll's personal space was invaded by a fluffy "Hey!" and drooling Zwei, who was held up by Ruby and Yang on either side.

"Unlock his Aura thingy!" Yang basically demanded, accompanied by a vigorously nodding Ruby. It did make sense to unlock a pet's Aura, even more so if the pet was going to be in danger. The added benefits didn't end with a personal shield for the dog, it entailed a much longer lifetime, maybe 20-25 years overall if they took good care of it, and much more. Caryll hesitated for a moment and then took the small animal from his sisters.

"Hey there buddy! We're gonna be the bestest of partners from now on," he declared to an especially happy looking Zwei and sat down on the couch. Silvery light enveloped his hand as he placed it on top the dog's head in his lap.

"No 'Ryl! Do the thingy!" Ruby flailed her arms in protest and hopped beside him on the couch.

"Yeah! It's so much cooler with a speech!" Yang added and done the same as Ruby. Caryll regarded them both with indulgent smiles. He then looked down in surprise as he noticed that Zwei used the distraction to bite down on his glowing hand and munched on it playfully like a chew toy.

"You know, there's a joke just begging to be made here…" He shook his head amusedly and closed his eyes to concentrate.

"For it is in passing that we achieve enlightenment. Through this we become an architect of fate to overcome destiny and shine above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by reality, I release your soul and by my shoulder uplift thee," he chanted calmly as his Silvery Aura disappeared inside Zwei and drew out its own brownish one. The two different Auras intermixed with each other for a couple of seconds, then as fast as it came the drawn out moment ended and Zwei released Caryll's hand to bark happily and climb onto his shoulder to lick his face enthusiastically.

Tai himself hummed interestedly at the little speech. It wasn't really necessary to talk out loud during the awakening but it was tradition, and like his daughters pointed out, it made the process much cooler. The content usually varied from person to person, sometimes it meant something, other times it was nothing more than some fancy words strung together, though he could tell Caryll's was certainly some food for thought. The kid had a closet philosopher streak a mile wide.

"Where's Mom? I want to introduce the newest member of our family," Caryll asked as he put down Zwei and let it run free around the room.

"She's upstairs," he replied as he saw Zwei sniffing around a dusty old bean bag chair. "She's getting ready to head out somewhere-" he was cut off by Zwei sneezing, or rather by the myriad of throwing knives flying from an intangible vortex that opened from Zwei's eye, knives that completely shredded the piece of furniture in a deadly whirlwind of metal only a moment later.

…

…

"Bless you!" Ruby said at last, shaking everyone else out of their shocked states.

"…What was that?" Tai found himself asking.

"My Semblance?" Caryll shared his confusion, he saw Qrow opening his mouth to say something when Zwei's nose began twitching again, causing everyone in the room to panic and either jump behind cover or try to calm the dog.

"Zwei No!" Caryll exclaimed in fright and to everyone's surprise the small canine bit down on its sneeze and sat down obediently. Caryll got up from his seat and picked up his companion protectively.

"Good Zwei, please don't scare us like that again," he said as he sat down again with the dog in his lap.

Bark!

"You know, I'm starting to think you actually understand me," Caryll remarked amusedly as everybody else slowly calmed down from… whatever that was.

Bark! Bark! Zwei whined in response and returned to munching on his hand.

"…Okay, I said that as a joke but I seriously feel like I'm having a conversation with a dog right row," Caryll stated awkwardly with a wry smile. "If you understand me then go to Ruby." He waved airily, waiting for a response. To their continued surprise Zwei barked and climbed into the lap of Ruby. The young girl didn't resist at all and happily petted the dog's head.

"My dog can understand me…" Caryll's expression became blank in a single moment. "Aura doesn't increase the intelligence of animals, does it?" He half-asked as he stared at Zwei sniffing Ruby's hand and then lowering its head dismissively.

"I don't think that's the case," Tai stated with a thoughtful expression, his teacher persona taking over for the moment. "Understanding, I mean. I have a theory though, could you tell Zwei to come to me?" He requested suddenly, his stepson did as asked and the dog obeyed once more. It got up from a pouting Ruby's lap, who was having fun petting the dog, and hopped into his lap. It immediately sniffed his hand and began munching on it playfully. Tai closed his eyes to concentrate and quickly realized what was happening.

"Zwei, sit on the carpet." He smiled as the small canine did so, albeit reluctantly and turned to face him. Tai nodded and leaned to the side to pick up one of the knives lying around. He then twirled it in his hand while the whole family was watching his every move. Suddenly, he threw the knife at Zwei, blunt end forwards, much to the shock of everyone else present, except Zwei of course.

The knife hit the dog in the nose and then… simply flopped to the ground in the same position as it impacted the golden shroud protecting their family pet. It clattered to the ground as the whole room watched in silence. Zwei lowered its head and sniffed at the knife, before dismissing it as uninteresting.

"Just as I thought," Tai declared in a self-satisfied tone.

"To think a dog shows more potential than most of my students… I need a drink," Qrow shook his head exasperatedly, a gesture mirrored by Caryll.

"Ugh, what happened? Tell us!" his eldest daughter demanded with crossed arms. Upon seeing her sister doing that Ruby backed her up by pouting at them.

"It seems like Zwei awakened his Semblance," he explained evenly, Qrow and Caryll may have had the perception and experience to tell what exactly happened, but his daughters were still far away from analyzing situations like these.

"Whenever Zwei… munched on our hands he was actually drawing some Aura from us, he left you alone because you don't have your own unlocked yet," he motioned to Ruby. "He then somehow uses our own Aura to gain our Semblances for a short while. When I threw the knife at Zwei my Semblance activated and stopped it, making it fall to the ground harmlessly." In layman's terms his Semblance worked by negating pain and absorbing all incoming momentum behind attacks into his Aura. It still drained him but this allowed him to basically ignore all forms of damage and just forge on while it was active.

"I've figured as much. But I still don't know why I suddenly became the dog-whisperer," his stepson motioned for Zwei to come to him. The small corgi barked happily and used its deceptively small legs to leap at him and lick his face.

"It can't understand you, at least not what you are saying," he clarified quickly. "Summer taught you the Aura familiarizing exercise, didn't she?" At seeing Caryll's nod he continued. "With your Auras being in constant contact inside Zwei, he probably always knows what you feel and can make a guess about your intentions based on your emotions," he shared his theory, thinking back he did recall a few of his colleagues being able to work closely with their companions, he didn't think much of it back then but it was interesting to see a relationship like this unfold before him.

"…So, we basically have a super-powered dog capable of following anyone's orders in the family?" Caryll asked as he and his sisters shared a mischievous glance. Zwei meanwhile returned to draw more of Caryll's Aura by munching on his hand.

"No short-stack. You have a super-powered dog that follows your orders," Qrow rebuked while shaking his head. "Your dog seemed reluctant to follow Tai's order and clearly prefers your Aura over others'. Must've impressed it with your soul or something, not to mention it's probably thankful for unlocking its Aura. I'm sure it'll warm up to us in time too, but for the time being it seems to prefer your lead," he gestured at Zwei and Tai nodded in silent agreement, Zwei did seem to prefer his stepson over everyone else.

Caryll blinked once at the news, "you mean to tell me I have a dog that can use my Aura and Semblance and is bonded to me in a way that he can understand and carry out every request I make?" He picked up Zwei and held it before his face. "…Zwei, I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership," he declared slowly with an ever-growing smile. Tai found himself smiling at the scene, if he had to choose the most endearing thing his stepson inherited from his mother, it was his smile.

The moment ended when Zwei suddenly fell from Caryll's grasp and disappeared inside the couch. Fortunately, a moment later the corgi emerged from the side of the furniture and casually walked through the wall leading to the kitchen.

…

"Best. Dog. Ever." Caryll looked after Zwei with a longing expression. Tai was about to voice his many concerns about having an untouchable dog in the house when his wife rounded the corner leading to the living room with a perplexed expression.

She saw them gathered up in one place and stopped to regard them unsurely. "…I saw a ghost dog in the kitchen trying, and failing, to eat the leftover casserole." She glanced back warily in the direction of the kitchen.

"That wasn't a ghost! That was Zwei!" Ruby declared in explanation.

"Yeah and he has 'Ryl's Semblance now!" Yang chimed in helpfully. Summer blinked confusedly in response before looking at her son for confirmation.

"It's not the weirdest thing in our family," Caryll shrugged with an easy-going smile.

"Right… Caryll and I will have to head out now, don't worry we won't be long," she shook her head and turned to Tai and Qrow.

"We have another mission?" Caryll asked in mild surprise.

"Not exactly…" Summer winced slightly in response. "Think of it like a… training exercise up in the mountains… yeah that's it!" Tai and Qrow shared a concerned glance at the fumbling of their leader. Summer's silver eyes were deadly but her silver tongue could use some work.

"Sum, where exactly are you two going?" Qrow asked what was on both their minds. The mountains south of Vale were dangerous enough as is and their leader's hesitance did nothing to ease their worries.

"I-, Ehh…. the valley?" She scratched her cheek sheepishly. Her statement caused the remaining members of Team STRQ to look at their leader in disbelief.

"What?!" She flinched at their tone. "Summer that place is too dangerous!" He heard about that place from her when they were in Beacon, just the description sent chills down his spine at the time.

"Summer, I know the kid is good, hell from what I've seen he's better than most Academy students, but he's not ready for that!" His avian friend backed him up while motioning towards a confused looking Caryll.

"Oh come on, I wasn't that older than him when I went there!" She argued back with a more confident smile.

"Summer you were sixteen!" He looked at her exasperatedly.

"Like I said, not that older."

...

"You're going there whether we like it or not," he stared blankly at his wife, who had what he dubbed as the playful-yet-resolute expression on his face.

"Yep, right Caryll?" She placed extra emphasis on the p.

"Yep." his stepson did the same, now both Roses were wearing the same playful, yet dangerous smile.

…

Tai glanced at Qrow, who looked just as lost and resigned as he was, then at his daughters who were too enraptured in the conversation to offer any input, then finally at Zwei, who by now has somehow managed to eat all the casserole and was walking through walls and furniture like they weren't even there.

Yes, he thought, moments like these made him question if this family was healthy for his sanity.

* * *

"Caryll wake up, were almost there." Summer's voice shook me from my quick nap and I groggily opened my eyes to look around me. I gazed out of the side-window of the Bullhead we were currently on to see clouds and mountain peaks as far as I could see. After takeoff Summer suggested that I catch some shut-eye, apparently I would need it for whatever we would be doing soon.

"So, I know that I've been quick to back you up and all, but I would like to know what I signed myself up for," I said as I felt our airship dip slightly towards a particularly large mountain range.

"There is a… test I would like you to take," Summer answered from the pilot seat. Wherever we were going it didn't have an established airline so we had to rent a Bullhead for ourselves. Which revealed another interesting piece of information; Summer knew how to fly an airship. It made me wonder if piloting was part of the curriculum at Beacon or if it was just something some Hunters picked up on the… fly.

Yep, I think I've been spending too much time around Tai, thank goodness Yang hasn't picked up on the bad puns yet.

"In the middle of the Grimmlands?" I glanced at the mountains and then at the altimeter. "And four-thousand meters above sea-level?" I asked somewhat warily, Grimm I could likely handle, frostbite and oxygen-deprivation not so much.

"If it helps I've done it before. It was by no means easy but it's doable," Summer offered as she guided us between mountain tops, likely looking for a place to land.

"So I've heard, is this some other Rose family thing?" I sent her a sideways glance.

"Something like that… you'll see when we get there," she replied cryptically and I rolled my eyes. Summer was terrible at being suspenseful, but I knew she meant well, so I would play along patiently as long as needed.

"So, what's the test anyway? What am I supposed to do?" I asked when Summer found us a landing spot near a cliffside and began our descent.

"Hmm, not much. The test is made up of three parts; firstly you'll have to cross the valley, then climb up that mountain." She oriented the Bullhead to point at a large peak over a forested valley. "And for the final part… well, you'll just have to wait and see," she chuckled at what I assumed to be a personal joke as we touched down and all the engines shut off. "Come on, we're burning daylight," she quickly ruffled my hair when she stood up and left the pilot cabin. I shook my head and sighed forlornly, I got up from my seat and followed after the older and definitively quirkier Huntress. I saw one of the side doors open and sighed internally as I could already feel the howling wind piercing into my skin. I pulled up my scarf to cover my nose and cheeks and also pulled up the hood of my cloak in preparation for the harsh weather. Then, after every conceivable precaution, I stepped outside.

What greeted me was a winter wonderland of cold snow, even colder wind and frozen rocks.

Simply wonderful.

"Liven up a little sweetie, you'll attract Grimm to us at this rate." Of course Summer looked ready to lie down and make freaking snow angels in the snow.

"How?" My teeth clattered and I saw the moisture in my breath freeze before my eyes. "How can you stand this weather like that?" I looked disbelievingly in her direction. We were four-thousand meters above sea level, the winds howled like crazy and it was late November! It literally hurt for me to blink!

"I spent a good portion of my childhood up in these mountains, I guess I got used to it?" Summer shrugged in response and began leading us towards the edge of the cliff. I shook my head and tried to ignore the cold for now, I had a mission to complete, complaining can wait after I'm done.

"So, what's this place called anyways?" I asked while hugging my cloak close to me. The chilly winds this high up pierced through even heavy clothing and managed to freeze my exposed hair into solid strands.

"My father called it the Valley of Death, but he had a flair for the dramatic. I just call it home," Summer shrugged nonchalantly, not even fazed by the lack of oxygen or the cold weather.

"It's certainly endearing," I drawled sarcastically as I scanned the frozen hellscape of mountaintops, giant mammoth pine forests and clouds from above. "Any tips?" I asked while kicking down a pebble into the valley before me.

"Hmm, the nights here are cold enough to freeze even Qrow's stash, so unless you fancy becoming an icicle I suggest getting to that mountaintop before sunset," she informed me semi-seriously.

"Got it, anything else?" I asked and stepped closer to the edge. I still had at least two hours of sunlight to work with.

"Don't rush through the valley or you might regret it," she said thoughtfully and I blinked in confusion at the contradicting pieces of advice.

"Wait didn't you just say-" "Time to go! Clock's ticking!" She declared cheerfully and she shoved me over the edge and down into the snowy forest, which was at least a clear 100 meter drop.

"Ah I remember when I was pushed down there… Ah they grow up so fast!" Summer shook her head with a dreamy expression while the voice of me cursing her name echoed through the valley.

* * *

And when I thought the wind couldn't get any worse, I just so happen to be pushed off a cliff… is this some retribution for not going to any Academies? I mean the Beacon initiation began similarly as well… Do all tests on Remnant involve throwing people off cliffs?

And is it too late to call it a day and just Kamui myself back onto the living room couch, wrap myself up like a burrito and read Ninjas of Love all day?

I threw a knife at one of the gigantic trees inhabiting the valley as soon as I passed by its top. The knife impacted the bark and glowed brightly, meanwhile I extended my hand and willed the Gravity Dust to slow down my descent, ultimately causing me to swing like Spiderman for a few brief seconds before I let go at the end of my arc and landed in a roll on the snowy ground.

I got to my feet while wiping off the snow from my cloak, captivating literature can wait, I thought while putting my hand up high with my vambrace glowing brightly and with a violet glyph hovering above my palm, Summer seemed serious about this thing, least I could do was to follow her example and complete this… test for her, I concluded and caught the speeding knife in my hand. I lowered my hand and began to trek through the dark and cold forest.

* * *

I'm tired…

I closed my eyes for a few seconds and exhaled slowly. I've been walking for gods know how long through this freezing snow that crunched defiantly every time I took a light step forward. The forest itself wasn't very inviting either, a brief look upwards confirmed that yes, the canopies blocked out most sunlight that might have helped warming this place and that absolutely nothing inhabited this forest, if the almost complete silence was anything to go by. The shadows cast by the branches overhead didn't help one bit, for the first few minutes they fooled me into seeing figures that weren't even there, needless to say I was now disregarding almost any assumed shadow-play with only a mere glance.

I played with the idea of activating my Aura to ward off some of the cold but ultimately decided against it as I was in the middle of the Grimmlands where I would likely need every ounce of it. You would be hard pressed to find Beowolves, Ursai or other low-level Grimm here, firstly the cold would kill all of them, and second of all without human or Faunus interference the Grimm here could age and… evolve into more threatening variations of themselves. This all meant that whatever things inhabited these forests were something worthy of caution, thus my conservative stance on all of my resources.

If only the air wasn't so thin, I thought morosely.

I opened my eyes tiredly and continued on my way towards my objective, tired and cold as I may have been, I still had the mental presence to plan and navigate, speaking of which I saw a frozen river during my fall, if I'm right it should be just around here…

I reached a small clearing and smiled a little when I saw the frozen over body of water before me. I stopped before the ice and thought about my next step, I really didn't want to test the strength of the ice covering the freezing water but neither did I want to waste my aura by warping myself to the other side…

I massaged the bridge of my nose tiredly, not even having the energy to be frustrated at this point. I sighed and decided that I was too tired to think properly, I trudged over to the base of one of the pine trees and plopped down against the hard bark, maybe a break was in order, yes, that sounds wonderful… this valley is too tiresome.

Summer could wait a bit, I'll be sure to get up before sunset…

I closed my eyes and decided to ignore the cold snow beneath me.

There is nothing in this forest anyway.

It's too silent for anything to be here.

It's like the whole forest has gone to sleep…

…

Panicked silver eyes shot open and before I knew it I was on my feet with a knife in my hand… that was embedded in the throat of the humanoid Grimm before me. A quick glance to the side revealed its right, clawed arm extended towards where I was sitting before I got up in its guard. Another frantic look told me that the Apathy before me wasn't alone, an entire pack, dozens upon dozens of them were lumbering slowly towards me with an almost lazy gait. I gripped the knife tightly and yanked it out of the Apathy sideways, spraying black ooze across the snow and letting the slowly disintegrating body collapse before me.

Normally, in a situation like this I would be asking questions like how long was I out of it? Or how did I not notice them earlier for example, perhaps draw some parallels between my mental state and the presence of the Apathy, or better yet theorize a strategy for myself to get out of here alive… but not now.

I closed my eyes and forced my frantic breathing to even out a bit.

I was not a person you could truly anger easily.

Cut off a limb or two? Annoying but nothing I can't work with.

Blind me or scar my face? Shame on you for ruining art.

But get inside my head and mess with my mind…? Well, may you rest forever in hell.

So needless to say, I was beyond livid right now. More than that, it was hard to admit but I was scared, frightened even… Give me a Wyvern or a Nuckelavee any day, but these mind altering abominations? I would rather tell Raven that her clothes make her look fat.

So yes, you could imagine how these two emotions mixed together in my mind and basically made me forgo any elaborate scheme and precaution.

"Die!" I snapped open my eyes and released one of the greatest bursts of light I've produced yet. Immediately the closest dozen of Apathy were consumed in white flames and only clouds of ash showed that they existed in the first place. Two dozen more were petrified like some classical Greek statues while the large remainder of the pack recoiled away from the bright light that killed their companions.

I cut off the light a moment later and panted lightly, gaze filled with unbridled contempt as I stared at the recovering pack. The Apathy recollected themselves and seeing that subtle manipulation was out of the question they let out a bloodcurdling scream that sent me down to my knees and left my ears ringing.

So this is how it's going to be? Very well, no master plan then, I snarled internally through exhaustion. I grit my teeth and got to my feet, but instead of facing those freaks of nature I turned my gaze directly upwards. I focused a large chunk of my Aura into my eyes and activated Kamui.

Just like with Zwei, a large vertical vortex opened from my right eye and spat out Dust imbued knives by the dozens high up into the air, when the number of knives reached the hundreds I closed the Kamui portal and lifted my outstretched arms upwards.

No holding back.

The violet crystals on my vambraces lit up and two circular runes appeared above my palms, from them, countless violet strings sprung to life and connected themselves to the knives above. I then brought down my hands in a swift motion and as one the still ascending Inferno knives got yanked back down in a deadly rain of swirling metal.

By this point the Apathy stumbled closer than their petrified brethren and were preparing to scream once more, but alas it was a little too late for that. Hundreds of Inferno knives struck the ground in a large area around me before I sent the mental command to activate them.

And so the once quiet and slowly darkening forest on the brink of night was lit up by a fireball of epic proportions that even managed to bring down a few of the towering giants in the area and melt a bit of snow around the explosion.

I made myself tangible again and looked around to see most of the pack still stumbling around like some burning zombies among the molten permafrost and rapidly fading Grimm. I blinked in confusion and looked at one of the many fires still dotting the area, it was flickering weakly.

Of course, the air is too thin for effective firebombing, I scoffed internally before my eyes hardened once more and looked upwards again. A familiar vortex opened up and spat almost half as much knives as before, only this time the Dust imbued blades were of a different nature. I took control of them again and brought them down like the wrath of god.

"Burn out!"

The knives impacted the ground and the Wind Dust crystals in them released huge gusts of wind that struck the still burning napalm/white phosphorous-like substance covering the area.

This time a second, much larger fireball erupted in the middle of the valley. The rising mushroom cloud it produced dwarfed even the mighty pine trees of the hidden taiga and knocked them over by the dozens, and so it started a domino-like effect where burning trees would fall upon other trees and cause them to also catch fire, thus starting a forest fire that was intense enough to melt the uppermost layers of the permafrost below them.

I rematerialized inside what would be best described as a blazing inferno. Giant burning trees fell to the ground every few seconds, causing not so small tremors around the area, while the rapidly evaporating snow was slowly forming itself into grey and menacing rain clouds up above.

I scoffed audibly when I noticed a few stragglers still stumbling around aimlessly in this transformed winter hellscape, they were a resilient bunch, I had to give them that. I took out a Lightning knife from my bag and activated the Dust in it. Blue arcs electricity danced across the blade as I lifted it up in a ready stance while my eyes glinted dangerously. Not a moment later I appeared before a heavily injured Apathy, partly petrified it with a brief flash of my eyes and then sliced its head off with my knife before charging the next survivor to repeat the process as many times as needed.

This hunt has only just gotten started.

* * *

"Get there before sunset… Summer, please leave giving veiled advice to someone else, it's not your forte," I shook my head as I exited the smoke cloud covering the area and arrived at the banks of the freshly melted river. From what I was able to gather from books discussing Grimm behavior patterns Apathy liked darkness, they could hunt during the day but for some inexplicable reason they preferred to spend the day in dark crevices before crawling out during the night. Summer's advice may have been sound… some twenty years ago, when the trees didn't provide enough shade to simulate the night and draw out the nocturnal predators anyway.

Makes me wonder about the 'not rushing through the valley' bit. I looked up at the sky and saw the sun well in the process of dipping below the horizon, and already I could feel the air getting chillier than before. I sighed internally, it didn't really look like I had a choice in the matter, travelling through the night was simply a no-go seeing as I wouldn't last long in the cold even with Aura.

Is it really late for Ninjas of Love and a cup of steaming coffee…? I shook my head resignedly, even if I were to do that there was the risk of Ruby finding me and wanting to try out coffee just by the virtue of me liking it or worse, asking me to read from the book for a bedtime story…

A new source of light shook me from my thoughts and made me look up again to see the broken moon appearing on the other end of the horizon, signifying the start of the night. Right, it was time to ignore what was likely a sound piece of advice and high-tail it up the mountain, shame about the fire though, if I had more time I would put it out, but oh well, it's not like it will grow into a forest fire or anything-

Just as I thought that a colossal burning pine tree chose that moment to finally give out and fall over the freely flowing river and act as a makeshift bridge. The impact itself sent burning cinders in all directions and the tremors of the impact made snow and icicles from the nearby trees fall to the ground.

… I stand by what I said.

I hastily jumped on the burning log and quickly made my way to the other side of the river, now arriving at the halfway point of my journey through this gods' forsaken valley. However, as I hopped down onto solid ground my Aura screamed at me in warning. I promptly became intangible and watched as a long and narrow bone spike flew through my chest and burrowed itself into the tree behind me. A closer look revealed that the bone was covered in a dark red ichor that sizzled when it made contact with the bark of the tree.

I turned away from the projectile and looked where I assumed the attack came from. I didn't need to wait long as my attacker revealed itself to me by jumping down from one of the trees and right in front of me.

At first glance I could tell that it wasn't a typical low level Grimm. It looked like a cross between a wolf and a snow leopard. Its tail was long and muscular, with a claw-like appendage at the end of it. Its head reminded me of a Manticore's, sans the horns and the bony head plate. Its back and sides were covered in elongated bone spikes similar to the one I was attacked with. There were so many of them that they covered each other multiple times and pretty much gave the effect of natural fur that just had a spiky appearance. Its maw was lined with sharp teeth the size of my fingers and finally its legs ended in similar claw-like appendages as the one on its tail.

"An Alpha Nightstalker, huh?" I mused to myself dismissively. These mountain dwellers may have been more threatening than low-level Grimm, I could even make a comparison between it and a Chimera, size and threat-level too, but I wasn't really concerned. I took out an Inferno knife and slowly walked towards the snarling creature.

"As much as I'd like to play around with you..." I said disinterestedly as it charged at me like a rabid animal. When it got close enough it pounced at me with its claws extended, only to pass through me harmlessly and land behind me confusedly. I flicked the Inferno knife behind me and heard it embed itself somewhere in the creature. I lifted my arm and called back the knife to my hand, the knife didn't budge and instead attracted the Nightstalker to me. For a few seconds it tried to resist by clawing at the frozen ground, but once it got in range I turned my head towards it and simply sucked the snarling creature into my Time-Space.

"…I've got a schedule to keep," I declared and turned to continue on my way. I didn't it make two steps before I heard loud howling from not far away. I turned to look in the direction it came from and saw a smaller Nightstalker with its head held high, howling at the sky.

I rolled my eyes with an annoyed expression and took off in the direction of the mountain, I really couldn't afford to get bogged down. Night was coming and my only option left was to rush through the valley.

I would be going against Summer's advice, but I doubt I'd encounter anything as bad as Apathy or just a few Nightstalkers along the way, besides what's the worst that could happen?

* * *

I have many regrets…

I frantically dodged acid coated bone spikes as I high-tailed it towards the mountain, with seemingly the valley's whole population of Nightstalkers giving chase behind me.

Thinking back, I really should have silenced that smaller Nightstalker, the forest fire already drew the attention of many Grimm, but it was that rallying call that alerted every pack member to my presence. Normally, that would have been manageable but I wasn't exactly high on Aura or stamina, with my fireworks show with the Apathy and my rapid progress through the remainder of the forest, not to mention my liberal use of Kamui meant that my vision was starting to get blurry.

Another Nightstalker jumped down in front of me form one of the trees and reached for a bone spike from its back with its clawed tail. I didn't waste any time with trying to engage it and just phased through it as I continued running onwards, the howls and sharp whistling sounds of the chasing pack not so far behind me. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity in this cursed valley I reached the foot of the mountain.

There was one small problem though.

What greeted me wasn't a small incline, but a high cliff that would make the legs of any professional climber shake like jelly. There didn't seem to be any outcroppings to hold onto, the winds were strong and the frozen snow made gaining any sort of leverage impossible.

I let out a tired and resigned breath while running and prepared myself to expend the rest of my Aura. Jumping away just before a bone javelin would have hit me, I landed on the trunk of a tree and pushed myself away and higher into the canopies of the gigantic trees. When I reached the top I looked to the cliffside and warped myself to the mountainside.

A knife was in my hand and embedded into the icy cliffside the moment I appeared there. I shakily held onto the blade and calmed my breathing. I glanced upwards and noted that it was still a long ways up until I reached any sort of horizontal surface, with that noted for later I glanced down to check on my pursuers.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" I yelled tiredly, the Nightstalkers didn't even slow down at the sight of the sheer vertical surface, no they ran at it and jumped upwards, when they landed their claws dug deep into the icy rocks and provided them with enough leverage to run vertically upwards.

"Stupid mountain Grimm, two can play that game," I grumbled under my breath and took out four knives from my bag. I threw all four upwards and yanked them into the cliffside in straight vertical line. I activated the Gravity Dust in them and told them to go haywire, causing them to attract everything around them. I jumped upwards and was soon captured in the gravitational field of the first one. As soon as my feet touched the cliffside I ran forward before jumping to the next knife and so on, effectively wall-running up the side of the cliff.

Unfortunately, despite my speedy ascendance up the mountain, the Grimm were still closing in faster than I could climb, so much so that I had to dodge whistling projectiles after only a single minute. Frustrated beyond belief at this point I took out two knives with Earth crystals in them and stabbed them into the cliff below me. A large outcropping formed and served as a shield from any incoming projectiles while I took the time to observe the top of the cliff in detail.

Ohh, I could work with that.

I didn't need to wait long for the Nightstalkers to reach my platform and surround me on the edges, ready to attack at a moment's notice. In response I simply took out eight… specialty knives and threw them over the valley at high speeds. The Nightstalkers looked on in what I assumed to be momentary confusion, it was hard to tell as I had trouble with making out smaller details at this point. With everyone eyeing the small blades I closed my eyes, covered my ears and sent the mental command for the two types of Dust in the hilts to activate.

Both types were mixed formulas, created by combining the basic forms of Dust. The first one was a combination of Lightning and Fire Dust, when brought together these variants became what is known as Light Dust, which as the name implies, creates light, really bright light. The second one was a mixture of Lightning and Wind Dust and was dubbed as Sonic Dust. It was commonly used in sound systems and such, but its base purpose was to create vibrations.

And they did their job splendidly.

The moonlit night sky was suddenly illuminated by a blinding flash of light that was soon followed by a shockwave that rattled leaves across the valley.

I opened my eyes and ignored the ringing in my ears to observe the disoriented pack of predators before me. I crossed my arms and grinned lazily at them. Once they got their bearings they snarled at me and were ready to pelt me with bone spikes when something unexpected happened. A low rumbling noise could be heard from up above and the ground vibrated beneath our feet. I looked up to see that yes, everything was going according to plan.

The Grimm became anxious and looked upwards to see a large body of snow falling towards them at high speeds.

An avalanche.

Credit where it's due, they were smart enough to know when they were in more trouble than they could handle. The bigger and older members of the pack didn't hesitate to disappear below the platform while the younger ones seemed torn between fleeing and following their base instincts by attacking me.

In the end they didn't have the time to come to a decision as the avalanche hit and demolished the platform we were on. If I were to guess the last thing they saw was me waving them goodbye.

I on the other hand warped myself out of the way of the avalanche and over the valley. Focusing the last remaining ounces of Aura into my eyes I warped myself a good hundred meters up above and flicked my last knife in my bag at the top of the cliff. I began freefalling once again until I heard the cracking sound of my knife hitting ice. I immediately activated my vambraces and called my knife back, it didn't budge and instead attracted me towards it. It reeled me back towards it and caused me to collide with the edge of the cliff, painfully.

My Aura broke after the fact, but I managed to pull myself up over the edge and lie down on my back in the cold snow while breathing heavily.

I did it…

I'm cold as an icicle, tired beyond belief, out of Aura, half blind because of Kamui overuse, I smell like a chimney and I'm a bit hard of hearing because of that mega-flashbang and the Apathy, but I did it. I ran an aching hand through my frozen locks and let out an exhausted breath of relief. A moment later the frozen cloud of mist dissipated and revealed an unused walking trail that led further up the mountain, much, much further…

"I hate this valley so much…" I complained despondently. I painfully got to my feet and continued my journey upwards under the broken moon and starry sky.

* * *

_Remaining true to the source material, Zwei will become the most powerful entity on Remnant._

_I got the idea of his Semblance from my dog, he loves to munch on my hand playfully from time to time and gets offended if I take it away before he's finished thoroughly drooling over it. :)_

_Caryll earns his place as the R in Team ARSN._

_Some might recognize the Nightstalker from This War Of Ours, I borrowed it from there and made some modifications to it. Think of them like… the basic enemy types in video games somewhere down the line become "elite" versions of themselves, Nightstalkers are something like that. They are definitively stronger and more dangerous than Beowolves and Ursai but still fall below the Nuckelavee or Giant Nevermores._

_Omake:_

_**Gotta catch 'em all!**_

_Alpha Nightstalker: *gets dumped into Kamui and lands harshly on the ground* Gah! What the hell?_  
_Wyvern: *tilts head interestedly* Hello there. Are you my new roommate? I'm Jeremy._  
_Alpha Nightstalker: Hi, I'm Francis, where the hell are we? I was trying to devour the flesh of some small human and then a portal sucked me here!_  
_Jeremy: Don't know, When I was captured the human threw a small ball at me and said something like "Get inside the Pokéball" and then a portal transported me here *shrugs and brings out tea set* Want some tea?_  
_Francis: *accepts cup* Thanks, but what's a Pokéball?_  
_Jeremy: *shakes head* I don't know, the human is weird, it keeps calling me Charizard *sips tea*_  
_Francis: Now that you mention it kept referring to me as a Liepard…_  
_Jeremy: *brings out a book and offers it to Jeremy* Take this, it gets boring in here and the human at least has good taste in literature._  
_Francis: *takes book with clawed tail* Ninjas of Love Vol. 2…?_

_Next chapter is really the last one of Act 1, I swear!_

_**Reviews:**_

_Lord-Azrael3: Caryll is the amalgamation of a few different characters (with Obito and Itachi in prominence) with my own spin on the end result. The head poke in this case was unintentional from my part though, it was supposed to be a 'use your goddamn head for a moment' sort of gesture, not a sign of affection._

_Itachi and Caryll are similar in character, but there are a few major differences between the two. Caryll is a lot more open in his affection, or I should say he can afford to be more open about it. He's also not a pacifist like Itachi, he's willing to give a chance for a peaceful resolution sure, but he's not afraid of violence. If he did receive an order like that… well let's just say he wouldn't pull an Itachi but he would rather pull a Sasuke on the Five Kage Summit and assassinate the entire council and burn down the entirety of Vale and Beacon lol._

_Ruby: Why 'Ryl? Why did you kill our family?! *cries in grief and disbelief*_  
_Caryll: Foolish little sister, the script demanded so! *waves piece of paper*_  
_Ruby: W-what?_  
_Caryll: Now hate me with all your being! And when you have eyes like mine come and find me! *activates fully matured Silver Eyes*_  
_Ruby: B-but our eyes are fueled by love and light not grief and hatred. How does that make any sense?_  
_Caryll: Don't ask me! I'm just following this thing *gestures at script* I don't even know who wrote this shit! *Throws script in the trash*_

_Hmm, I didn't plan on introducing a Shisui-like character intentionally, but now that you said it I do plan on giving Caryll a partner that's like Kisame/Shisui in essence. In fact, I already foreshadowed him/her somewhat *coughmostmountainsdon'texplodeontheirowncough*_

_Blaze2121: You'll get your reaction :)._

_Rex-Mortuorum: Indeed._

_Jack Redhawke: Well…_

_TRP: *looks at camera* Silver Eyes._  
_Interviewer: Err… I don't think-_  
_TRP: *crosses arms* Hashirama cells._  
_Interviewer: That's the wrong anime._  
_TRP: *points aggressively* It's all part of Aizen's plan._  
_Interviewer: That makes no sense! You're just making these up!_  
_TRP: *flips table and marches away* You can't prove anything!_

_In all seriousness though, I'm sorry if that's really the case. The reason for this mistake is quite simple; I don't know how an English speaking 3 year old talks, plain and simple, I've never heard one. I live in Hungary and all the 3 year olds I've met could speak (somewhat broken) Hungarian like I depicted in the chapter. I just assumed it's the same with English speaking children, but then again English and Hungarian share as many similarities as a priest and a waiter, both are men and that's about it._

_I was about 5 when I learned how to read, almost 6 when I learned how to write. I asked around and apparently that's normal so there you have it. I purposefully leave the exact dates vague so the readers can fill those blanks in for themselves, for example in this case the Yang could be anywhere from 5 years 1 day to 5 years and 364 days old. Since one chapter can cover an entire year it's entirely up to you to decide how old she is now._

_Guest: Thanks and well… I don't know? That's really magicky (totally a word) so I don't know how he could use it in universe, but I could make a Maiden or some other magical character use it, maybe?_

_sandmanwake: That or an Akatsuki cloak with strawberries instead of red clouds and slashed cookies on his forehead protector. Also his Scroll would be playing the Akatsuki theme song 24/7._

_Guest: I can give you some Tai, Qrow will have a minor part next chapter but I wouldn't expect him to have a significant role until Act 3 now that we officially enter Act 2. Flashbacks are always an option though._

_Guest: Guess again._

_Other well-wishers: Thanks guys!_

_Until next time!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the eleventh chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. We're here guys! The end of Act 1! And it's massive, holy hell! I'm not gonna lie, I was tempted to just split it again, but I didn't want to drag out this Act that much, so yeah. Also, this chapter is also special in a way that for the first time, we don't get a Caryll POV at all, everything is form the perspective of other characters. Other than that, I don't have much else to say, so I hope you'll enjoy the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 11: Tristitia et dolorem**

Summer walked through the garden of the mountain cabin with a single destination in mind. She walked by many headstones resting on the sidelines of the abandoned household until she reached one beside a large oak tree. It was not much to look at, many others were bigger, withstood the elements better or had a better spot, but for her this one felt the most important, the closest. Without a word she took out her sword and the fearsome curved blade that slayed countless Grimm beforehand began cutting the weeds covering the modest tombstone. Once freed from the vines a gloved hand wiped off the small layer of snow covering it, finally revealing the faded writing on it.

_Caryll Rose_

_A Hunter before Hunters_

"Hey Grandpa, it's me Summer," she greeted quietly and sat down on the snowy grass. "I'm sorry, I know it's been a while. Things have been a bit hectic and I've… been busy," she chuckled awkwardly. It really has been a long time hasn't it? He passed away, she'd done the test with her father, who later followed after her grandfather and left her alone in the house. Then she went to Beacon, became a team leader and had many adventures with her friends until she graduated and became a full-fledged Huntress.

"Oh! I'm actually a mother now! Can you believe it? Me, a proud mother of three," she smiled proudly at that fact, out of all her achievements, somehow that felt like the greatest. "That's why I'm here actually, the oldest is doing the test right now and I figured I might as well visit you and dad, you know?" She nodded in the direction of the valley and then at her father's tombstone that she visited earlier.

"…I know he may seem too young for it, but I believe he's ready." Her expression sobered at that and her voice took on a wistful tone, "he's special… in more ways than you'd think"

"I-… Remember what you told me when I was little? That those born with our gift were destined to lead the life of a warrior? I see it in him, in his eyes, just like in yours," she reminisced on simpler times, when she was younger and her grandfather would tell her stories of his youth. "I actually named him after you… it just seemed right, you know?" She rubbed her neck sheepishly, saying it out loud for a second time felt a bit embarrassing.

"He's a good person, a bit difficult at times but then again you said the same thing about me too, I guess… You know what they say, like mother like son," she chuckled mirthfully. "He's a bit more free spirited though, reminds me of someone I used to know…" She shook her head at the thought, dwelling on the past wouldn't lead her anywhere. "I can see him becoming a Professor or even a Headmaster one day, when he slows down his hectic lifestyle that is, though knowing him he would get wrinkles and grey hair before that," she giggled lightly, Caryll certainly had the mindset for the positions, but she just couldn't imagine him sitting in a chair and doing "uninteresting" and "inconsequential" paperwork all day while others were out there fighting and hunting. She also didn't know how it would fit in his dream of a better future. It was a good dream too as far as she was concerned, it reminded her of her own dreams when she was younger and had her own goals of becoming a fabled Huntress, a paragon of virtue who helped others and defended the world against darkness. After years of hard work and learning she did eventually achieve her dream and couldn't feel happier with her life, it just felt complete and almost everything fell into place just… right.

But then she looks at her son and feels… something stir inside herself. Whenever they practice and spar together she sees just how determined he is in getting better and better to achieve his dream. She always feels a tinge of pride whenever she thinks about it, but it is also accompanied with a pang of sadness and what she could only describe as… guilt.

Her son was spending his whole life training, planning, preparing and for what? To change the world? To right the wrongs of it?

To take the cold, unforgiving world he was left with-, no… given by her and correct what she couldn't?

Her hands clenched into fists as she stared at her lap.

She tried. She tried to make everything better, that's why she became a Huntress and that's why she joined Ozpin's circle in the first place. She thought that by doing that she could maybe leave behind a safer world for her children, a world she can look back upon and smile proudly.

She failed. The world was still the same cold and unforgiving one that she was given.

And now, all of her children have expressed their desires to follow in her footsteps, to take over the mantle and pick up where she left off. Her little Ruby was like a mirror that showed her own past, she had the same appearance and goals as her younger self, a pure and innocent soul that wanted nothing but the best for everyone. She was sure that she would make a wonderful Huntress, and a greater one than herself with the support of her siblings.

Yang, Yang… Oh, how much she loved the little sunshine of a girl. She couldn't care less if they weren't of the same blood, she was her little girl and nothing in the world could change that…. but she decided long ago that she deserved the truth. Even if Rae left them, Summer still owed that much to her wayward friend. She didn't know how Yang would receive the truth, but it didn't matter to her, she has long since prepared and accepted any reaction Yang might show, even the one when she goes after Rae for answers on her own. She still worried though, her search would undoubtedly lead her to the most dangerous places on Remnant.

And Caryll… Gods even now he was down there in that frozen hellhole, fighting his way through darkness just because she asked him nicely. It was a necessity for what lies ahead of him in his path, but that was the point, it would only get harder and harder for him from now on.

"Grandpa… I'm scared," she admitted quietly to the tombstone before her. "My whole life I did what was right, I always strived for my dreams and I felt like I was making a difference… Now I'm looking back upon everything and see the good I did, the lives I've saved and the people I've helped… I feel content then, but then I look around me and see that nothing changed at all…" She swallowed the lump in her throat and lifted her head to stare at the memorial. "I tried, I tried my best… Had I not done enough?" She left the question hanging in the cold air between them.

No answer came of course, even if she desperately needed one.

"Caryll and Ruby will be hunted their whole lives just because of the way they were born and Yang's life will be no better with the hardships she'll face…" She spoke up after a minute or so of near complete silence, her expression tinged with worry, and a small and persistent idea sparked behind her eyes.

"I can't help Yang with her journey for answers. It's something she has to do alone… but I can-" She cut off that line of thought as an old conversation came to the forefront of her mind and her expression changed to one of uncertainty. "I-… I heard a rumor back then, about why Salem increased her search for our kind." As far as she knew Salem always hunted their kind, but her search and desire for… eradication skyrocketed in the past half a century, to the extent that she was almost certain that she was one of the last of their bloodline alive on Remnant. No forgotten relatives, distant cousins or even mere sightings, nothing, apart from her children it seemed like she was completely alone in the world.

Then one day she's told that rather than eradicating them, the immortal witch was collecting their kind for a reason. She frowned distastefully when she thought about the reason behind Salem's actions, it just came across as hideous and cruel to Summer.

"I know that I can't defeat her, but if I were to take matters into my own hands and get what she's after…" She sighed worriedly as she looked off to the side. "It's a long shot, it would be dangerous, and stupid… very much so, but if I pull it off-, Caryll and Ruby could just live their lives however they wanted to, without having to worry about assassins chasing them all their lives, they could live in a better world that I've given them..." She looked back at the faded writing on the memorial and tried to remember her grandfather's face, she remembered how it would always radiate a feeling of confidence, oh what she would give for even a bit of that now.

"Grandpa, I feel lost…" She decided to finally come out with her inner dilemma. "This… plan is risky, if I were younger I would have went through with it without hesitation, you know how I was," she chuckled mirthlessly at the admission and her expression soured considerably. "But then Caryll was born, then I adopted Yang when I married Tai, who later gave me little Ruby-… I have a family now and I can't stand the thought of potentially leaving them behind if things go sideways with the plan. I- I just whenever I think about it I get scared and postpone the decision for later, but I'm running out of time, Caryll is close to starting his own life in the outside world where he would be vulnerable I-I…"

"I don't know what to do…"

Potentially sacrifice herself for the betterment of her children or do nothing and wait for a potential tragedy to occur? It's been on her mind since the day Caryll was born, but no matter how many years she mulled over it she couldn't see what the right choice was…

But maybe she didn't need to.

Depending on how well Caryll did on the test she could either make her choice or postpone it a year or two when he would take the test again. She had no doubt about his ability to take care of anything he might encounter down there, but the most challenging part of the test would be the last one. If he failed she needn't worry… but if he succeeded her time would run out and she would be forced to make a choice.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps crunching in the thin snow. She turned around and saw her eldest approaching her with a deadbeat expression. His cloak was singed at the ends, frozen snow covered his clothes and two streaks of frozen blood trailed from the corner of his eyes, the fact that he smelled like a chain-smoker didn't help his image one bit. He closed the gap between them and stopped before her to stare at her in the eyes.

"Your home sucks," he said in a complete deadpan and she fought down the smile that was tugging at her lips.

"Yep, it does. What happened to you?" She asked with a bit of concern tinging her voice, he looked like he just got back from a warzone.

"I rushed through the valley during the night." Came the sarcastic response and this time she didn't bother to hide her smile.

"Ah, that would explain it," she shook her head. "If it makes you feel better, you got here a lot faster than I did back then. I had to wait until dawn to reach the top, almost froze to death before getting here, probably looked a lot like you too," she reminisced, it was without a doubt the worst night she had the displeasure of experiencing.

"Somehow it really does not," Caryll denied with a sigh before looking at the tombstone and blinking in momentary confusion. "…Is that?" He trailed off uncertainly.

"Your great-grandfather, yes. I was just paying my respects before you came," she explained and stood up from the cold ground. She wiped off the snow from her cloak and took out a single white rose from it. She held it silently for a couple of seconds before bending down and placing the flower on the memorial.

The moment of truth, grandpa, she thought tentatively.

"I can introduce you two later, you still have a test to complete," she straightened up and turned to her son. "How are you holding up?" Her expression softened as she regarded him, she wouldn't hold it against him if he needed some rest before continuing on.

"I'm fine, mostly," Caryll shrugged in response. "My reserves got back to full during my hours long trek up here. I even had the chance to restock most of my equipment from my Semblance and drink some instant coffee to keep going," he shivered slightly, seemingly disgusted at the simple notion of the beverage. "I'm alright for now, but I would like to find a bed and sleep as soon as possible." He yawned tiredly for emphasis.

"Alright then, you should be good for the last part of the test," she nodded approvingly and beckoned him to follow her away from the memorial.

"Speaking of which, what exactly is it? You told me I would see it when I got here, but there is nothing here apart form that wooden cabin with the mini graveyard and the garden," he asked as she led them to the middle of the clearing. When she got to the middle point of the snowy grassland she turned to look up wonderingly at the night sky. They were above most clouds so nothing obstructed the stars and the broken moon from illuminating the clearing they were on.

"I am," she responded simply.

…

"…I'm sorry, what?" Caryll blinked owlishly at her, caught completely off guard by the statement.

"To finish the test you'll have to fight me." She looked back at him with a serious expression on her face.

"I- uhh, please tell me this isn't a duel to the death or something," he nervously asked as he glanced at the small collection of memorials by the house. She blinked confusedly and followed his line of sight only for her own eyes widen at the terrible misunderstanding.

"Oh no, no, no!" She shook her head fervently. "It's nothing like that! We'll just have a fight and that's it!" She explained hastily while making dissuading motions with her hands. On second thought she really should relocate those memorials to a family crypt or something, preferably before Yang or Ruby take the test. "I would never take part in a death match with my own son," she whispered quietly to herself, just thinking about it made her heart ache.

"Thank goodness, I was this close to having a heart attack," Caryll sighed in relief. "So, is this like our normal spars? Standard rule set?" He rolled his shoulders in preparation, this wouldn't be their first spar, far from it, but this occasion was special.

"Not this time," she shook her head and turned away to walk in the other direction. "There is no 'arena' or 'outside' here, there is no way to get disqualified, there is no forfeiting," she listed off the rules, or rather the lack of them and stopped her walk when she felt like she was a fair distance away. "You win by shattering the opponent's Aura and by forcing them into surrendering afterwards." She turned around to face Caryll.

"Isn't that a bit… dangerous? I mean we usually stop when our Aura hits the red for a good reason," he asked uncomfortably, he was right that with the intensity of their attacks it could be dangerous, but he was forgetting something important.

"Most of your opponents won't stop when your Aura breaks, so neither will I," she countered easily and took out her sword in a ready stance.

"Touché," he relented and took out a single knife from his bag.

"Oh, and one more thing. I won't be holding back, I suggest you do the same and take this seriously," she warned him with a steely gaze.

"What do you mean?" He looked at her with an innocent expression that caused her to smile.

"Oh please, I know I wasn't the only one who didn't give their best during our spars," she wouldn't be an elite Huntress if she couldn't pick up on things like these. "We've never used our Semblances against each other and I know how much you like your 'grand master plans,'" she rolled her eyes at the silly phrase.

"Hmm, alright then, you said it, not me," Caryll grinned in response and took out another plain looking knife from his bag and tossed it up in the air. They didn't bother to look at the lazily spinning knife as the world around them slowed down considerably and their gazes fixated on each other. Finally, after what seemed like a minute the knife impacted the snowy ground with a silent thud, signaling the start of the battle.

A split second later the two blurred from their starting positions and met in the middle where their blades clashed with a resounding clang.

He's fast, she thought as she pushed her sword against his knife, but his strength leaves a bit to be desired, she observed as she pushed their blades closer to his face without much effort. It couldn't be helped, even with Aura he's just too young to keep up with her in that regard. She applied a bit more force behind her blade and noticed the minute widening of his eyes, following his gaze she realized that her blade was slowly making cracks in his knife. Caryll's expression soured suddenly and his vambrace lit up in response. Her Aura flared in warning and she disengaged just in time before the knife that was used to start their fight flew right through where her head once was. He caught the speeding knife and they both separated.

"I really should get myself a weapon, these knives just won't… cut it anymore." They both snorted at the horrible pun and regarded each other with more calculative expressions.

She won't make the mistake of underestimating her son, she saw first-hand on multiple occasions just how crafty he could be if he wanted to. She activated her eyes and observed her son's silvery Aura. They were right back then, his Aura reserves were leagues beyond that of a normal Hunter's, even coming close to rivaling her own. She separated her blades and activated the Dust in them, the right one crackled with electricity while the left one gained a weak light glow. She shouldn't let the fight drag on too long, even if she had the upper hand, she knew Caryll could quickly turn the tables if left to his own devices.

She needed more information for formulating her own plan too, she would increase the pressure on him just a bit, but she wouldn't go beyond simple probing this time.

She disappeared in a blur of motion and reappeared before Caryll with her twin swords already mid-swing. Caryll was fast enough to produce one more knife form his bag and meet the attack head on with his own Lighting Dust infused blades. A sharp thundering sound echoed through the clearing and both fighters were forced to disengage due to the violent reaction.

Caryll discarded the ruined knives to the side with an annoyed huff and pulled out a fresh pair in preparation. Summer meanwhile tilted her head in slight confusion, not at the new blades, but rather at the way he blocked her pincer attack. It somehow seemed… familiar.

She was forced to return to the fight at hand when her son threw a knife directly at her, acting on pure reflexes alone, she deflected the projectile to the side and was already in the process of closing the distance between them. She deflected several more knives on the way, left, right, left, right and so on until she reached him and swiped at his throat. The attack was parried to the side with a resounding crack and rather than resisting she went with the motion and ran past him, leaving nothing but a fading afterimage and disturbed snow in her wake.

Yet again, she noticed it, he never fought like this before, he always preferred to use his Semblance to negate attacks and use the momentary confusion to end the fight right there with his Semblance. He rarely met attacks head on and on the rare occasion he did, he used techniques she taught him, not these foreign yet familiar ones.

She came to a dead-stop and spun around to repeat the process in an effort to learn this new pattern her son showed. Once again their blades clashed with the same results and she was already gone before a counter could have been attempted, but her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she prepared for another attack run. She definitely remembered someone else using this style of fighting, but for the life of her she couldn't quite put a face beside it.

After several such repetitions she was prepared to end her probing session when it suddenly dawned on her. This revelation and momentary shock however came at the worst possible moment as Caryll capitalized on it and just as she was about to strike, her blades passed through him and she followed straight after them. Her son spun around with a Lightning imbued knife, ready to deliver a devastating blow to her head.

Unfortunately for him, she wasn't one of the fastest Huntresses in the world for nothing.

Her own blade met his halfway, even as she struggled to regain her footing, the vulnerable moment passed as fast as it came and thanks to her strength advantage she managed to force a stand-still between them. She quickly spun around with a knowing smirk on her face and two sets of silver eyes gazed into each other like mirror images.

"Rae taught you well," she said teasingly as sparks of electricity flew between their blades. Caryll's grip wavered for a second and his eyes widened momentarily before turning back to normal.

"Yep, she did. How did you find out?" He asked curiously, arms straining under the weight of their weapons. She chuckled at the question.

"I was her partner and friend for over twelve years, sweetie. I would be a pretty bad leader if I didn't memorize her fighting style." She raised a questioning eyebrow, "I'm just surprised that you're using her style right now."

"Well, you said to go all out. Don't get me wrong but her way of fighting is a bit more effective against people than yours is," he explained with a strained shrug and she hummed in acknowledgement. She could see his reasoning and it would only benefit him in the long run to learn multiple ways of fighting.

"…How is she?" She asked concernedly, even if she ghosted them without a word, Rae was still her best friend and she still cared for her deeply.

Oh, she would beat the snot out of her if she ever saw her again, but that's besides the point.

…She would still hug her senseless and fuss over her afterwards anyway.

"You know, she's like… Raven," Caryll rolled his eyes. "Still rough around the edges, her tongue is still coated in barbed wire and her glares are sharper than your sword." His statement was punctuated by a small cracking sound coming from their blades. "But I managed to make some headway with her!" He declared cheerfully.

"What did you do?" She asked in genuine curiosity, momentarily forgetting their battle entirely.

"I forced her to adopt me," he told her with a megawatt grin.

…

…

She couldn't help it, she burst out laughing.

"You did?! Oh gods, did you at least take a picture of her when you did?!" She managed to ask between laughing fits, somehow still managing to hold the standstill between them by simple muscle memory.

"Nope, but I can take a picture when I'll first call her Auntie Rae, if you'd like." Oh gods, she could imagine her reaction to that, it took years for Summer to be allowed to call her Rae, even then she only allowed it when they were in private.

"…Thanks Caryll, We-… Rae and I had our differences, but I'm glad she's not completely alone and that she has someone looking out for her even now," she stated sincerely after collecting herself. She didn't mind her former partner's new position as a second 'mother', she happily signed the custody papers when Caryll was born after all. Plus, it felt like karma was doing its work, Rae rejected motherhood and abandoned Yang to her, it only seemed fitting for her son to seek out Rae and force her into being a parental figure.

Caryll hummed and nodded understandingly, then a victorious grin broke out on his face. "Oh by the way, I win." Huh, what-? Then she saw it, the world slowed down as intangible wisps of space itself swirled around his right eye and coalesced into a vortex that enveloped her entire field of vision and drew her in-

She landed haphazardly next to the memorial of her grandfather, gasping for air while fighting to keep the casserole down in her stomach. She groaned as he got to her feet even as she swayed due to the sudden bout of nausea washing over her, it made her feel like she spent an entire night out drinking with Qrow.

Ugh, she's never doing that again if she could help it. Her Semblance was able to circumvent Caryll's this time, but she wasn't sure which Semblance was truly the fastest between them. She had a split second of warning this time, next time she wasn't so sure who would come out on top.

Still, she got what she wanted. His style was a mix of hers and Rae's with his own unique twist on the end result, he was skilled but his lack of strength put him at a disadvantage in close quarters. She also witnessed him becoming intangible and opening a portal. She activated her eyes and glanced in the direction of their battlefield, judging by the size of his reserves and the drain his Semblance put it under she guessed he had roughly…

Five minutes of invulnerability.

Which meant he wouldn't prefer a drawn out engagement. Neither of them were endurance fighters, he was simply too young to have that much stamina and her speed took a toll on her reserves too. Her Semblance was a lot less Aura costly than his, while it was definitely one of the most powerful Space-Time Semblances she had ever seen, even comparable to her own and in some categories surpassing Rae's, it was also his greatest limiting factor.

She could very well outlast him, but she would prefer to avoid a prolonged battle of attrition, since the more time she gave him, the more plans he could come up with…

…But she had her own plan. She only needed to know one other thing about her son to enact it.

With a white flash she disappeared from beside the memorial, leaving behind a single white rose petal fluttering in the air. She reappeared back on their battlefield, not far away from the annoyed looking younger Rose.

"I know it sounds hypocritical, but your Semblance is just plain cheating," he deadpanned as he held up the rose petal she used to make her escape.

"You're just saying that because you were slow as a snail," she tilted her head to the side playfully as she transformed Laminae into its bow configuration.

"Then I guess I'll just have to be faster next time," he declared resolutely and released the single petal, letting it be carried away by the slight breeze. She used her off-hand to take out a single vial of Wind Dust from under her cloak and activated her Semblance.

White rose petals began to fall off in droves form her white cloak and began slowly blanketing the area. She crushed the Aura infused Dust vial in her hand and a large gust of wind spread out in all directions. The wind fluttered their cloaks and covered the entire clearing in a large cloud of rose petals.

Her Semblance, Petal Scatter, allowed her to switch places with a single white rose petal that was created and maintained by her Aura. The transition was virtually untraceable and more importantly, instantaneous. Her ability with it was only limited by its limited range and the number of petals she used as markers. Not to say that her Semblance was lacking in any notion of the word, she could still flash from one side of the city to the other if needed and her reserves allowed her to create thousands of petals if she decided so. It was also the reason she got her moniker. Right now, her reserves were around four-fifths if she had to guess, creating a thousand or so markers had drained her somewhat.

In the blink of an eye she had already notched a Fire Dust arrow and launched it at Caryll at speeds surpassing a bullet's. He dodged it easily and threw his own knife at her. She didn't bother with deflecting it and just flashed away before the Inferno knife detonated.

Hmm, interesting.

She disappeared with a white flash and reappeared right before Caryll with another arrow already notched. She launched it point blank in the face of a caught off guard Caryll, who just barely managed to lean out of the way of the searing projectile, but already his hand was reaching out to her in retaliation. Knowing better than to remain this close to him, she teleported a fair distance away with a thoughtful expression.

Not giving him a chance to recover she launched an Ice Dust arrow and watched in slow motion as her son moved to evade it, when it was close enough she let a smile form on her face and decided to show him a little trick up her sleeve.

A violet, tube-shaped glyph enveloped the handle of her bow and she used her fingers to guide the now connected arrow into the chest of a very surprised looking Caryll. It exploded in a shower of cold crystals that covered the area around the younger Rose… Who walked out of the icy prison only a moment later with a very ticked off expression.

"That's cheating!" He accused loudly while pointing at her. As a reminder that they were still in the middle of a fight she shot another three arrows at him and flashed away to another spot in the clearing.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied in a sing song voice as he warped himself above her in an effort to surprise and tag her. Too bad she was too fast and experienced for these kinds of simple tricks to work, she jumped away just before her son impacted the spot she was standing at. His landing produced a small snow cloud that hid him from view until he came charging out while throwing an Inferno knife at her. She tilted her head to the side to avoid getting hit while she backpedaled away from him. However, he did manage to surprise her when the knife exploded behind her and sent her stumbling forwards, right in the direction of Caryll's extended right hand.

Having none of that, she flashed away to another location a split second before they could have made contact.

"That's my… thing! You stole that from me!" He yelled as he dodged another two of her guided arrows.

"A good Hunter is versatile," she reminded him teasingly. "Your idea was good and easily implementable into my weapon, so I thought it would be a waste not to. Would it help if I thanked you for giving me the idea?" She asked half-seriously, it really was an idea with merit and she had to thank her son for it, he was the one who showed it to her during their lessons and spars after all.

"…A little bit, but you're still a copycat!" He exclaimed as she shot three guided Fire Dust arrows at him. He met the projectiles with his own throwing knives and the coming collision produced a sizable fireball that obscured their vision of each other. She hummed thoughtfully at the name, Summer Rose, The Copycat Huntress. It had a nice ring to it, but she preferred her current one.

Deciding to test the limits of the younger Rose, Summer flashed behind her son who was still looking at the explosion and launched three Scorch Dust arrows at him. Caryll, somehow noticing the attack, swiped his hand behind him in an upwards motion and caught all three arrows in a sweeping motion. Summer activated the Dust in the arrowheads and flashed a few meters away from her son, ready to deliver a follow-up blow from the ensuing explosion...

…Or at least that was the plan, however she watched with fascination as Caryll spun on his heel and simply tossed up the activating Dust arrows in front of his face. His Semblance activated and a large horizontal vortex opened form his right eye. The arrows detonated inside the outbound portal and formed a flaming tornado that was heading… in her direction.

She managed to teleport herself away before she took the brunt of the scorching attack, but it still managed to singe her pristine white cloak and drain the slightest amount of Aura. The flames died out quickly and left the two of them standing alone in the clearing once more.

"You're annoyingly elusive," Caryll stated with an exasperated expression.

"Pot, meet the kettle," she gestured to him then at her in a playful manner. He shook his head and took out eight of his throwing knives at once. He then threw all of them in different directions in front of him. The Inferno Dust and the Gravity Dust in them activated at the same time and produced an interesting spectacle. The spheres of burning liquid were halted in their expansion by the gravitational forces pulling them inwards, this new equilibrium created fast moving star-like spheres that incinerated everything in their paths.

Like shooting stars, her mind supplied as she watched and felt the moving projectiles drew in and then incinerate every single last one of her rose petals before burning out themselves, leaving nothing but burning cinders fluttering in the cold, night air.

Caryll didn't move an inch from his position and neither did she. The loss of her petals was a setback but she didn't need them anymore. She has gathered what she needed to enact her plan and a mental check proved to her that she still had about three-fourths of her Aura remaining with her son likely having a similar amount, if not a bit lower. Now she only needed to-

Her thoughts came to a stop as she saw her son charging at her with an unreadable expression, no weapons, nothing. Time seemed to crawl to a halt as she regarded Caryll confusedly, what was he doing? What was he hoping to accomplish-?

That's when it hit her.

She separated Laminae into two parts and charged to meet him head on.

A gamble.

A simple touch. That's all he needed to end this fight, no blades, Dust or fancy fighting style required. If he managed to draw her in with his Semblance it would be over. He destroyed all of her markers and forced her to confront him directly, likely assuming by their earlier displays that he could surprise her if he did something unpredictable. It was a clever assumption to make, a logical one too, she had the upper hand in their fight so far and if he didn't do anything she would wear him down and lose, but if he failed he knew he would be wide open for a retaliation as he needed to be tangible to attack, and that could be the end for him.

It was a gamble for a chance at victory and it only hinged on just one question.

Who was the fastest?

Coincidentally it was the question she was trying to figure out in the last minute or so. Her right blade crackled with electricity while the left one was glowing subtly.

He was fast, she thought as the distance between them shrunk.

Faster than any Academy student, she subtly pressed the Light Dust infused sword's hilt with her thumb.

Faster than a normal Hunter like Tai, she saw Caryll lifting his right hand in slow motion.

Faster than a veteran Hunter like Qrow, she threw the Light Dust infused part of Laminae at his forehead. His eyes widened momentarily but returned to their normal states as her blade sailed slowly through his head.

She also realized that if he was pushed to the edge, he could even keep up with elite Hunters like Rae or Glynda, she gripped her remaining blade tightly and observed her son's face, two pairs of mirrored eyes bore into each other as their clash seemed inevitable.

He was incredibly fast… There, an almost unnoticeable widening of his pupils. She could feel his fingers brushing against her cloak.

But he wasn't faster than the Flying Light.

She disappeared in a flash of white light and switched places with the rose petal she had planted on her other blade that was currently flying above the back of Caryll. She spun mid-air and drove an Aura enhanced and Lightning Dust infused blade into his back, forcing the younger Rose into the ground and also stopping him from using his Semblance by having the electricity play havoc with his nervous system. He rebounded harshly from the cold and rock hard ground while she reformed her two blades into one and allowed the two different Dust types in them to interact.

Light Dust was a special kind of Dust that only showed its more interesting side when it was introduced to another form of Dust. When used in conjunction Light Dust 'enhances' the other variant by allowing it to channel their effect through itself, namely in this case, leave behind a streak of white light after every one of her swings that could channel and amplify electricity.

It wasn't the way she wanted to enact her plan, but this would do just as nicely. Her Semblance went into overdrive and white rose petals began pouring out of her cloak, she planted a handful of petals on her slowly ascending son with her off hand and kicked him high up into the air. After a brief second of waiting she flashed to him and struck him with her sword while leaving behind even more petals in her wake. She then repeated this process several dozen times in the span of a scarce few seconds until the two of them became nothing more than fast moving blurs to the naked eye. Her rose petals eventually coalesced into a swirling whirlwind that picked up snow form the ground and launched it high into the air while lightning danced inside the makeshift tornado.

Suddenly a white flash of light deposited Summer back onto the ground and she regarded her Light Dust infused blade solemnly, the Dust was starting to lose its effect from overuse and it forced her to stop with her attack. It was a shame but what could she do? She shook of her head minutely and activated the Dust in the cloud before her. Her previous swings became visible as they began emitting bright light, electricity jumped between the glowing crescents for a few moments before the makeshift network of circuits collapsed in on itself and… fried itself by exploding in burst of lightning, raining snow and rose petals all over the clearing.

That's why you don't mess with the Flying Light…

Summer stretched her arms triumphantly with a pleased smile on her face as she watched her son impact the blackened ground harshly. She wasn't that worried, she made sure her plan wouldn't accidentally break his Aura so he should be fine overall. Caryll grunted in exertion and got to his feet shakily, looking generally grumpy and a bit singed in places, but not really worse for wear. A quick check with her eyes told her that his Aura was slightly below one-fourths, meaning that this fight would soon come to a close as hers hovered comfortably around three-fifths after that display.

"Ugh, so that's how _that_ feels like…" Her son coughed dryly into his hand "At least my arm isn't falling off" He mused as he caressed his left arm. She didn't even bother with trying to understand what he was talking about, probably something unrelated from his past life if she were to guess.

"Let this be a reminder that making gambles this large recklessly can easily backfire on you," she chided lightly, still he put up a good fight, it looks like she'll have no-

"I would say it was worth it…" He tilted his head to the side with an innocent smile. What was he going on about? The fight was basically over- why did he look so smug all of the sudden and why did she feel… heavier?

She shuffled in place and could hear a clinking sound coming from behind her.

Her eyes widened in realization as she grabbed her cloak and looked at it in shock, it was riddled with half a dozen or so throwing knives that glowed menacingly.

"My turn." Her legs were encased in solid rocks before she could even blink. Caryll suddenly took out and threw eight Inferno knives high up into the air and warped himself a good dozen meters in front of her. She managed to shake off her shock and was only a moment away from teleporting to safety when another knife detonated on her cloak and sent her body into a convulsing fit.

"Not so fast." With a simple hand gesture she could see Dust crystals activating on the edges of their battleground and releasing huge gusts of wind that forced her cloud of petals inwards. Those were the knives she deflected early in the fight! She realized with an aghast expression.

A portal opened form her son's eye and began spewing out Dust infused blades by the dozens in her direction before it closed and her son disappeared, probably somewhere behind her if she were to guess.

For the first time in their fight she was trapped, her feet couldn't break out of the solid rock encasing them and her Semblance was blocked by the lightning coursing through her nerves for another couple of seconds, more than enough time for her remaining petals to converge on her position and get caught up in whatever Caryll was planning to do. She watched on with stunned amazement as the cloud of swirling metal closed in on her and quietly accepted what was about to happen.

The wall of Lightning infused blades reached her and unexpectedly collided with another cloud coming from the opposite direction. Upon contact they exploded in a shower of sparks and arcing electricity with her in the middle of it all. Her petals finally reached her position and not long after the eight Inferno knives struck the ground around her an exploded upon impact. The following fireball incinerated all of her petals and dispelled the volatile sphere of lightning around her.

…

"Ugh…" Summer groaned painfully on the cold ground, that had hurt, badly. She unsteadily got to her feet with her muscles flaring in protest and leftover electric shock. She pouted and dusted off her thoroughly ruined white cloak, she liked that one…

"That's why you shouldn't bring a cloak to a fight," she heard her son say. She turned to look at him standing a good few meters away with a pleased expression and- was he looking at his finger nails?

"Sweetie, you wear a cloak," she pointed out bemusedly.

"It's a combat cloak!" He immediately protested with an offended look thrown in her direction. "…Besides it's super cold right now," he muttered at seeing her amused expression.

She shook her head with a sigh and activated her eyes. What she saw made her wince, Caryll's Aura was around one-fifths right now while hers hovered around…

One-fifths…

She had been careless an allowed her son to formulate and enact a plan that would reduce their Auras to critical levels, both of theirs. At this level she couldn't make another swarm of petals without running out of Aura directly after, she could make a few and use them as markers around the clearing but with such low numbers Caryll could just block them by planting a knife by them which would explode when she switched places, further draining her already low reserves. So, using her Semblance like she did before was out of the question.

Meanwhile Caryll could use his to remain intangible for another minute, more than enough time to tag her without her Semblance in the way.

Summer's eyes hardened and she transformed her weapon into its bow configuration, their battle was reaching its end… but she had a final trick up her sleeve, a dangerous one, but one nonetheless.

If Caryll liked to rely on his Semblance so much, then she would only encourage it.

She took out a specialty arrow from her quiver and notched it while aiming at Caryll. The arrow had a bluish yellow shaft composed entirely of Dust and a violet arrow head designed for penetration.

"Uhh, Summer what are you doing?" Caryll's eyes widened considerably in recognition of the arrow. His posture shifted from its previous confident one to a more cowed or skittish one.

"Oh, I just think it's time we wrapped things up." She channeled her Aura into the arrow and watched as the shaft got coated in a layer of electricity from the Lightning and Water Dust in the shaft, the arrow head began glowing similarly as the Gravity Dust whirred to life in preparation.

"Wait-" she ignored him and let go of the ethereal projectile. In the span of a millisecond the arrow flew through the air between them, passed through her son harmlessly, before continuing on its way towards the giant pine trees at the edge of the clearing…

And searing through at least two of them and exploding in the third.

…

"You threw lightning at me!" Caryll accused, face aghast. Well, in essence she did, her Stormlance arrow worked by using the Lightning and Water Dust as a propellant, while the Gravity Dust gave mass to the otherwise formless elemental attack, creating what was essentially a miniature lightning bolt with mass.

She mainly used it against Goliaths and such, but she couldn't deny that it would also be a one-hit knock-out/kill against most Hunters if it hit… which it would most of the time, at this range only people with the speed of an elite Hunter could dodge something like lightning.

"Oh relax, you're fine." Caryll with his Semblance was one of those people.

"Yeah, no thanks to you! Who throws lightning at people, honestly?!" He flailed his arms in outrage. She rolled her eyes with a fond smile on her face and drew three more Stormlance arrows, eliciting a gulp form Caryll. His Aura was already down by another one percent, a few more dodges with his Semblance and he would be out of Aura. She notched all three arrows at once and watched as lightning danced between the arrowheads, creating bridges of electricity between them.

She launched all three and Caryll passed through all of them. The Stormlance arrows impacted the trees behind him while the lightning cables cut down everything in-between. The younger Rose responded to this by not being a stationary target and running around the clearing while throwing knives with red and blue crystals in them as retaliation.

She deflected each and every single one of them and continued with her tactic of reducing his Aura until she noticed him suddenly stopping once his Aura dropped to one-tenths. She reached for another Stormlance arrow, only to realize that it was her last one, they were difficult to make and she carried few of them as a result.

She reluctantly put it back in her quiver and took out three Scorch Dust ones instead and aimed them at Caryll. However, her brief blunder allowed him to act and suddenly the battered clearing was flooded with a sea of steam bellowing out of the knives she had deflected earlier. Her fingers slipped in the brief moment of surprise and let go of the arrows, sending them scattering around Caryll's position.

What was he playing at again? She asked herself as she transformed her weapon back into its sword form and looked around in the purplish cloud of steam. A distraction maybe? She shook her head, it may have worked on anyone else, literally anyone else, but Summer could see right through his attempt.

She channeled Aura to her eyes and everything came to perfect clarity, in the general area where Caryll stood previously was nothing but a few small animals judging from their Auras, probably weasels or rats that wandered onto the field accidentally. A quick glance to the side revealed her son running around the edge of the clearing, leaving behind knives in the ground as he went, she probably caught him setting up a trap.

This was her opportunity, he wasn't expecting her to know where he was and a single strike could shatter his Aura now, she thought excitedly and went on the offensive. She disappeared from her spot and reappeared beside the hooded form of Caryll. Without hesitation she thrust her crackling sword at his side in slow motion.

She won…

Glimmering Silver Eyes widened as the blade cut through the silver cloak's fabric and hit nothing but air. The hole in the cloak became larger as she cut further and she could peek inside to see nothing, but brightly glowing Inferno knives holding up the floating piece of clothing. She could just turn her head to the side where her eyes could make out the faint strings connecting the knives to the cluster of animals she saw before the Dust explosives detonated.

The bait worked and the resulting explosion sent her flying a good dozen of meters away where she laid for a few seconds as she collected herself. Her Aura held strong against the attack, but even without her eyes she could safely say that it was on its last legs. Speaking of which, she forced her aching body to sit upwards and blew a stray strand of hair from her eyes.

The strange fog subsided and she could see her son panting heavily with a few Aura imbued knives at his feet where she previously saw the animals. His left hand was raised in the direction where his makeshift puppet exploded.

His Aura shattered a moment later.

"Combat cloak, huh," she chuckled softly. "You've gotten better," she said as she shakily got to her feet.

"After six entire years, I would be a bit mad if I didn't," he responded with a tired grin, his arm faltered and dropped to his side, showing just how tired he really was and that this fight was really over.

"But," she said curtly as she reached behind her back. "I'm afraid I'm still better," she declared as she notched her last arrow, the Stormlance one, and aimed it at Caryll. And who knows how long that will last, she mused to herself as she waited for him to surrender. Without his Aura or Semblance there would be no way for him to dodge it.

"I wonder about that…" He trailed off as he looked at her expectantly. She blinked perplexedly, it was over- was he waiting for something-?

Her white Aura shattered.

She gasped in pain and her feet wobbled beneath her, she was feeling a bit… queasy.

…

"What did you do to me?" She looked back at Caryll with wide eyes.

"That cloud you were in? Yeah, that was Taijitu venom and steam you breathed in, it just took a while to take effect," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Raven can be really thorough with her lessons about fair fights and their nonexistence," he rolled his eyes.

"You poisoned me?!" She yelled agitatedly.

"You've never seen any Greek dramas, have you?" Caryll joked, but her withering glare made him continue. "Oh relax, your Aura is healing any damage it might cause, plus I have the antidote," he rolled his eyes and took out a vial from his bag.

"You poisoned me!"

"You threw lightning at me!"

She pouted in frustration and they descended into a tense silence, she could feel her body generating the smallest amounts of Aura that healed any damage the no doubt diluted venom caused… for now, but it still robbed her of using it for almost anything else. She couldn't use it for defense, nor for her Semblance, gods, even the Stormlance arrow required more Aura to activate than what she had now. They were both wide open, but the only difference was that she was poisoned, and he had the antidote…

…

"I'll accept your surrender any time," Caryll intentionally mimicked her voice in which she teased him earlier. Summer flinched and glanced around their battlefield, there were several craters, upturned ground, a myriad of used arrows and throwing knives scattered around, but nothing she could use, she didn't feel anything, not even with her Aura-

She still had enough Aura for a mental command…

"Maybe next time, sweetie," she replied after a few moments of silence, she then looked to his side for emphasis. Following her gaze, Caryll spotted the three Scorch Dust arrows stuck in the ground, waiting to be activated.

…

They looked back at each other, not really sure what to do. She was poisoned and he had the antidote, but he was also surrounded by her explosives that could detonate at a moment's notice.

…

"A draw then?" Caryll said unsurely, though it sounded like a question to her ears.

"I guess so?" She nodded hesitantly, she really didn't expect this outcome if she were to be honest.

He tossed the vial to her and the arrows lost their reddish glow.

She chugged down the antidote with a speed that would put Qrow to shame. "Bummer that I didn't win, but oh well. I'll complete the test next time," Caryll shrugged as he stretched his arms tiredly.

…

She couldn't help the snicker that escaped her mouth. "Did- did you really think you needed to win, this whole time?" She sniggered at his confused expression.

"Well… I mean yeah?"

"I never said you needed to win, silly. I only wanted to see how skilled you were," she smiled and walked towards him. "I never expected you to win, the test was intentionally designed so you would lose," she explained.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, how is a tired 10 year old supposed to defeat an elite Huntress in their prime?" She reminded him of their situation.

"…If you say it that way, it does seem kinda unfair… and obvious," Caryll admitted as she stopped before him. "So then what was the point of the valley, the mountain and the test… what was the point of it all?" He gestured around them questioningly.

"It's not really a great analogy, but consider it as our initiation into being a Hunter," she told him with a shrug, in reality it was supposed to be a rite of passage or something like that from generations ago, when the title wasn't official anyways. "I took the test from my father before I left for Beacon, not long before he passed away, but since you don't plan on going there I used it as test for something else." She searched her pockets for a few moments before taking out a small envelope and giving it to Caryll.

"What's this?" He eyed the envelope curiously.

"Your reward, take a look," she smiled gently. Caryll nodded, then opened the envelope and took out a small card and read the top line.

"Hunter Apprentice Caryll Rose…" He trailed off and his eyes became wide as saucers. His body froze and only his eyes moved as he rapidly skimmed over the ID card. Finally, after reaching the end of it, probably for the fifth time, he looked up with stars in his eyes. "How...? Why…?"

"You're a bit short to be a Hunter, but you're a lot stronger than one… So, I pulled some strings myself, asked Ozpin to help overlook your little age problem and got you the next best thing," she replied warmly before her expression soured a little. "As for the why… I was suspecting it for a while now, but I couldn't be sure without having you take this test," she shook her head with a fond smile. "I have nothing left to teach you…"

"Wait, what? How could you say that? What about my eyes?" He instantly rebuked and regarded her with confusion.

"Caryll, you went through a freezing forest teeming with highly dangerous Grimm, climbed up this mountain in the middle of the night while being hunted and after all that, you fought an elite Huntress to a standstill," she recounted the events of the night. "The first two alone are impressive in on themselves, but the last one shows that you're close to surpassing me, and if the way you've fought was any indication, then the same thing's true with Rae," she reasoned calmly, knowing her friend she was just too damn stubborn to admit it, at least out loud. "Yes, I could help you with your eyes, but that won't be needed for a long while… You have the skill, now you only need experience," she sighed and ruffled his frozen hair.

"So… what am I supposed to do now…?" For the first time in… gods know how long, Caryll truly looked like a child his age. The way he anxiously gazed into her eyes for guidance reminded Summer more of Ruby or Yang than the Caryll she knew for years.

It felt… strange, but she didn't mind it.

She went down to a knee and slowly enveloped her lost son in a supportive embrace. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the line where your teacher's name is supposed to be is blank," she whispered quietly as he returned the hug. "As I see it, you have two choices. You can either get me, Qrow or Rae to sign it and go on missions with us to become a not-so-short Hunter." This way he would be at home, with them, but he would never truly reach his full potential. "Or you could go out there and find yourself a teacher who could help you chase after your dreams." They wouldn't see each other nearly as much, but this way he could explore the world and bloom into his best self.

"Thank you…" He mumbled into her ruined cloak, voice barely above a whisper.

"Hmm, what was that?"

"…I apologized for not telling you who I was, but I never thanked you."

"Thanked me for what?"

"I-… I wasn't the best person back then and I know that I'm a bit of a handful nowadays as well, but… before I got to know you I was just an apathetic, dispassionate person without a definitive goal in life. Internally I honestly was a mess on the scale of Raven… I just hid it better than her. Then I told the truth to you about myself… and you just accepted me like that. Knowing I effectively lied to you and hurt you, even if unintentionally, it didn't matter to you. You ignored all my faults and encouraged me in my goals, you're doing it even now… You helped me become a better person."

"So, thank you… for being there for me." He looked in her eyes with his own, teary ones.

"No need to thank me, that's what family's for," Summer smiled kindly. "I will always be by your side when you need me… you're my little Silver Eyed Prodigy after all." The words were spoken with warm, unconditional love that flowed naturally form her lips.

"Yeah… I guess I am," Caryll nodded tearfully in agreement and embraced her again.

They sat there in the cold snow and grass for a while, surrounded by small craters, flickering flames and felled trees. She subconsciously covered him with her own cloak to ward off some of the cold, even though it was riddled with holes and burnt in places. Finally, after what seemed like minutes she felt him moving.

"I'll come visit every month or so and call you every week too… I'll also come back for the holidays, of course. I'm just worried about the girls, I know I could run across you or Qrow out there but I will still miss them and Tai, not that I'll ever be too far with my Semblance…" She listened to him rambling on with a small, content smile on her face. Her gaze however soon wandered in the direction of her grandfather's memorial and their conversation came to her mind.

"I guess I ran out of time…" She mumbled too quietly for Caryll to hear, but looking at her son explaining animatedly how he would make sure to eat properly even out in the Grimmlands somehow made coming to terms with her decision not necessarily easier, but it did assure her that what she was going to do was for the right-

No… the best reason.

* * *

"…Dinner is in the fridge and don't forget to tuck in the girls," their dad told 'Ryl from the doorway. Ruby looked at her sister in anticipation, but she shook her head, making Ruby look back in the direction of the doorway.

"Yeah, don't worry, I have everything handled and if something does I happen I can just use my Semblance to get to you. Just relax, have a good time out there and make sure Uncle Qrow doesn't destroy any DDR machines… again." 'Ryl made a funny face when he said that.

"But how would you know where-… Nevermind, we'll be back by midnight, be safe," their dad shook his head and waved as he went outside to Uncle Qrow. She looked at Yang again and she nodded this time. Yes, it was time! As soon as the door clicked shut they jumped from their hiding spot behind the corner leading to the kitchen and ran at their brother. When they got close enough she jumped, and with a small boost from Yang, she landed on his back with her arms hugging his neck.

"Hi!" They chorused as they beamed at him, well he only saw Yang as she was in front of him, but he probably knew she did too!

"Hey, what are you two up to now?" She felt one of his hands support her legs while the other ruffled Yang's hair affectionately. They shared a quick look and nodded.

"We wanna train with you!" They declared cheerfully, hah, there was no way he would say no to them!

"No."

"Huh, but why?" Yang spoke before she could, her dismayed expression matching Ruby's feelings. 'Ryl hummed in thought for a moment and then extended his arm to the side.

"You must be this tall to start training." What? There's no way!

"How did you get so tall?" She asked wonderingly, there had to be a way for them to be that tall too! 'Ryl glanced at her and smiled.

"I drink milk." Oh… Of course! That explained everything! She hopped off his back and was already running to the kitchen to get a glass of height-elixir when Yang grabbed her awesome new red cloak and yanked her to her side.

"Mom told us before she left that you were kicking butt when you were our age." Yang wasn't so easily convinced. Oh yeah, Mom did tell them that when she and 'Ryl came back from that snowy place, that's also when she gave her this awesome cloak!

"…Of course she would tell you that," 'Ryl shook his head.

"And you promised to help me with my dream too," Ruby pouted in support of her sister.

…

"…Why do you want to train so badly?" He sighed exasperatedly and the sisters shared a knowing look.

"Cause we want to be Huntresses!" "The best of the best!" They responded happily, Ruby knew she had always wanted to be one like her mom, dad, brother, uncle and… aunt? Sometimes 'Ryl would talk about someone he called auntie but she never met her.

"…You two are going to be the death of me, I just know it" He seemed upset, but he didn't seem to be mad at them, so what was he mad at? "Alright, I might have something that won't get us in that much trouble, and by us I really mean me" He shook his head and motioned them to follow him. Yang and Ruby shared a high-five and ran after their brother.

He led them into the backyard where he stopped at the spot their Mom and Dad sparred at from time to time. He activated his Semblance thingy and a moment later held up three wooden sticks and three colored cloths.

"We're going to play a special game of… capture the flag," he told them with an indulgent smile.

"Oh! What's that?" Ruby asked excitedly.

"The game is a simple one, I'll tell you the rules as they come up, but for now put these in your pants, or skirt for you Ruby, like a tail." He gave them a cloth each, a red one for her, a yellow one for Yang and he kept a silver one for himself. He tucked it in his pants for demonstration and they followed his example.

"The rules are simple, we fight rounds with the goal of getting the opponent's flag." He handed them the wooden sword thingies, she felt a bit clumsy with her own. "Normally it's a game for two people but this time I'll be against you two," he explained and took a few steps back.

"Do we have to fight with swords? Can't I just punch you?" Yang scratched her head confusedly, probably it felt weird in her hand too.

"Blades are the bread and butter of any Hunter, you don't have to choose it as your signature but it's good to have a grasp on the basics." She didn't understand… what did bread and butter had to with anything? She preferred strawberries and cookies anyway.

"Round one," 'Ryl announced to them. Yang didn't waste any time and charged 'Ryl, who… just let her pass by him and grab his flag.

"That was easy, you didn't do anything!" Yang pouted and gave 'Ryl's flag back to him.

"I just wanted to see if you remembered what the point of this whole game is. You have to grab the flag, beating up each other is secondary," he shrugged as he tucked the flag back in place. "With that said, I won't be going easy on you from now on."

"Round two. One handed." He put his left hand behind his back, much to their surprise.

"What?" Yang voiced their dismay.

"Every round gets harder and harder to imitate wounds." He weakly tapped Yang in her right arm with his sword. "Round two. One handed," he declared and backed away. Yang and Ruby looked at each other and shrugged, it was a weird game but it seemed fun at least. They put an arm behind their backs and nodded at their brother to start the round, he nodded back and it was on.

This time it was Ruby who charged ahead, she swung her sword widely at her brother like she saw her mom do it-

"Gah!" Only to get whacked in the head by her brothers training sword- "Ugh!" And there went her sister. She felt her flag getting taken away as she painfully clutched her head, but she was a big girl! She wasn't going to cry from something like this!

"one-one," She heard her brother say as he picked her up from the ground and checked her over for bruises, finding none he hugged her and said an apology, which she accepted quietly, he then went over to Yang and did the same. With all of them on their feet and ready he spoke up.

"Round three. One legged," He declared and moved to stand on a single leg with an arm behind his back.

"Oh, come on you're making this up! This isn't a game, this is a way for you to beat us up!" Yang yelled at the unfair rule, but Ruby suddenly got an idea on how not to get whacked again.

"So, you want to give up or…?" 'Ryl simply shrugged, making Yang fume in place before huffing and standing on one leg with an arm behind her back. When Ruby did so too round three began.

Yang hobbled over to 'Ryl and managed to fight with him for a couple of seconds "Not the head-!" before getting whacked in the head and then getting her flag taken away. Her brother then turned to her and rested his sword against his shoulder.

"Well Rubes, what are you going to do?" He tilted his head at her and she decided it was time to start her plan. She hobbled over to him, just out of reach of his whacking stick and looked up at him with her wide silver eyes.

"Can I have your flag, please?" She sent him what her Mom called a 'puppy-eyed' look while pouting.

…

…

"Sure, but only because you're so adorable," he smiled and ruffled her hair while she giggled in celebration. "But don't expect it to work again." He handed over his flag, she held it up proudly to her recovering sister. It was two-one in their favor! Yang's expression lit up considerably and once she got back up they went onwards.

"Round four. Blinded." 'Ryl closed his eyes, stood on one leg and held an arm behind his back.

…

"This game sucks," Yang voiced their thoughts.

"Don't worry, this is the last one with rules like this," their brother reassured and motioned them to attack, knowing better than to wait for 'Ryl to attack them the girls closed their eyes and hobbled forwards.

"Gah!" "Not my head again!"

It was a short round.

"Oh my, it looks like we're going to need a tie breaker. Tell you what, if you two win round five I'll bake you some cookies." The reward made them perk up, but the danger of getting whacked… again, made them wary. Yang grabbed her hand and led her away from 'Ryl, once they got behind the shed they looked at each other seriously.

"We need a plan," Yang said and she nodded, without one they would totally get whacked.

"Like the ones you do with 'Ryl," Ruby hummed in thought. The last round will be like the first one, without those stupid rules.

"…You're bigger than me," Ruby said to her big sister, and stronger too, "and I'm faster." And smaller, Ruby nodded as the plan formed in her mind.

"I fight and you grab the flag?" Yang asked and she nodded, it was perfect! They would surely win with it!

Yang went ahead to 'Ryl while she went around the side and hid behind a tree nearby.

"Round five" She heard 'Ryl say and she peeked out to watch her siblings' awesome duel… which Yang was losing badly, really badly. Deciding to enact their grand master plan she runs from her hiding spot behind the back of her brother. Her heart pounded with excitement as she prepared to take his flag when he suddenly turned around while knocking Yang's sword away. Ruby startled at the sudden motion and she decided to improvise…

…By throwing her sword in his face.

If nothing else the action surprised 'Ryl and allowed her to swoop in and grab his flag as he blocked the flying sword.

"We won!" She cheered loudly as she met up with her sister and they whooped in celebration. They would get cookies! And 'Ryl makes them just like Mom!

"Congratulations," she heard 'Ryl clap behind them and they turned to see him watching them with a small smile. "Now, can you tell me what you've learned from this lesson?"

Err… what?

Seeing their lost expressions, he sighed and shook his head. "I showed you this game so you two could practice three basic lessons that are important in a Hunter's life." He held up a single finger.

"Never give up. Sometimes things look hopeless and you just want to give up. You can get wounded." He lightly tapped Yang's head with the whacking stick. "Or you can get blinded, lost for who knows how long." He did the same with her. "But you should never give up without trying your best, victory is never impossible." He held up two fingers.

"Use your head before you lose it. Brawn is important to a Hunter, but if you truly want to stand out from the rest then you'll need to think like the best. Know yourself, know your enemy, always be one step ahead of them and you'll win without a doubt." He held up three fingers.

"And finally, a Hunter is never alone. There are solo Hunters sure, but most successful Hunters have partners, teams. No matter how strong you are alone, you're always stronger with someone you can trust." He let his arm fall to his side and smiled at them proudly.

"You two displayed these three points amazingly. Even when I introduced ridiculous rules, you didn't give up. When you realized that you couldn't beat me head on you made a plan, a fairly simple one, but it did work. And most importantly, you worked together to enact it," he grinned at them brightly. "When you become Huntresses you'll get assigned teammates, partners. You'll rely on them in battle and in life too, they become like family and you will trust them with your life… That's still a long ways away, but until then, why don't you two become partners, hmm?" He suggested with a gentle smile. "You can train together with this game, watch each other's backs, and help each other grow to become the best Huntresses on Remnant."

Ruby didn't know what to say, her sister as a partner? Was that something like a best friend? Did she trust Yang like that? The pair of sisters turned to each other and silver eyes met lilac.

…

Ruby slowly smiled and nodded, she loved her big sister dearly and they kicked 'Ryl's butt together too! They would make the best pair of Huntresses in the world!

At seeing her expression Yang's face brightened and nodded back with a happy grin.

"What about you 'Ryl? Who's your partner?" She asked her brother after seeing her sister's reaction, it made her heart act funny that she felt the same way.

"Oh, me? Well, I have someone special who I'm friends with," he chuckled to himself. "Who knows, maybe one day I'll introduce her to you two" he said while gazing up at the sky. "But I go on a lot of missions with Mom too, we watch out for each other and I trust her with my life-" he was cut off by the chiming of his Scroll. He took it out from his pocket and looked at it with a strange expression "…I've got a message from Mom… I'll be back, I'll just check it out quickly," he said distractedly and went inside the house. Ruby looked at Yang and she shrugged, she didn't know what was happening either.

* * *

Where was 'Ryl? They had been waiting for him for like forever! She paced impatiently with Yang, they had played a few more rounds of that game but 'Ryl was still inside the house, it was getting dark and the moon was now fully visible.

"...We should see what 'Ryl's doing," Ruby said unsurely and put down her stick.

"Yeah…" Yang agreed uncomfortably, it really was getting late. They put aside the cloths and the sticks and entered the house from the back. The kitchen was empty, but they heard a voice talking in the living room…

…And someone sniffling?

They approached the corner leading there quietly and peeked out to see their brother sitting on the couch and staring at his Scroll while tears flowed down his face.

Wait, tears?

'Ryl never cried before…

"-Please forgive me," she heard her mom's voice from his Scroll. "…I already sent a message to Tai and Qrow, but I also wanted to tell you and the girls that I love you three more than anything in the world… and that I'm… I'm so sorry." The voice stopped there and everything became silent. Ruby and Yang were frozen in their spots as they tried to wrap their heads around what they have just heard while their brother sat on the couch, also motionless.

"'Ryl…?" She didn't know why she spoke up, she didn't want to. Her voice caught her brother's ears and he looked at Ruby and Yang, his tears stopped flowing, but his normally warm and loving eyes seemed… vacant and his expression empty.

She heard 'Ryl describe this expression and emotion before, when he told her stories. What did he call it again? Dishpare? Despore? Oh, she remembers it now…

It was despair.

"Is Mom okay?" Yang asked quietly while she was lost in her thoughts.

"Yeah-… She just went ahead and done something stupid, that's all." It felt like he wanted to say more but couldn't.

"But she said she's coming back when she left… So she will be fine, right…?" She promised, she promised it to her and gave this awesome new cloak to her.

…

"Yes, she will be." 'Ryl's eyes hardened and he got up from the couch. His Semblance went into overdrive and a whirlpool of air deposited new clothes for him. He caught them mid-air and began dressing before them.

"'Ryl?" Yang asked concernedly, what was going on? 'Ryl ignored them and put on a pair of black pants, a long-sleeved silver shirt and his silver scarf. He then produced a piece of paper and a pen from somewhere and began writing.

"When Dad and Uncle Qrow come home, give them this." He discarded the pen and gave Yang the paper. She took it wordlessly, but her eyes widened when she read the short message on it.

"'Ryl, where are you going?" Her sister asked desperately as their brother put on brown travelling boots and black fingerless gloves.

"I'm going on a mission," he replied curtly and summoned his brown satchel bag, a quick glance inside showed that it was full of Dust vials and throwing knives. With that checked he slung it over his shoulder and summoned his black vambraces and clasped them firmly on his arms. With his preparations done, he took a deep breath, walked over to them and embraced them tightly.

"No matter what happens, know that I love you both, more than you realize." He kissed them on their foreheads, she was too confused to feel flustered. "Everything's going to be okay…" He squeezed them tightly before letting go and moving away towards the door. She shared a concerned look with her sister and they decided to follow him.

"Zwei!" He yelled out mid-way towards the door and their family dog appeared out of thin air beside him. "Watch over Yang and Ruby until Tai and Qrow come home." Zwei barked in acknowledgement, but it felt… sadder than normal for some reason.

He marched out of the house with them in tow, but he stopped when he heard Ruby's voice cracking. "'Ryl… What's happening? What are you doing?" She didn't understand what was going on, she was scared…

"I'm going after Mom… I'll bring her home safe and sound… and then I'm killing a Witch." The hatred in his voice as he said the last word made her flinch. A vortex opened and 'Ryl caught a fluttering black and silver colored cloak from the air. He turned back one last time to face them with a small smile.

"I promise I'll come back with Mom."

He threw the cloak over his shoulders and clothes and walked away with the broken moon hanging above him. Before either of them could go after him he disappeared in a slowly spinning, intangible vortex.

**End of Act 1**

* * *

_There we have it, the end of the Childhood/Training Arc. With this done we can officially enter the main plot of the story; what I like to call as the Summer Retrieval Act._

_With that said…_

_Goddamnit Summer, you had one job! Now look at what you did! *points at a hysterically crying Caryll in the corner, who's also hugging his knees while rocking back and forth*_

_No Omakes this chapter, this is officially the longest chapter of the story as it is, but don't worry I'll just have more of them next time!_

_Regarding Summer's Semblance, when I started writing this story I just knew that it had to be a teleportation one to fit the bill of 'all Roses are essentially speedsters'- I mean, Ruby's thing is speed, Caryll focused on it specifically and you would be hard pressed to find an ability faster than Kamui._

_Then I had an epiphany; if I'm already incorporating Kamui into Remnant, then why not the Hiraishin, its main rival technique? And if I did do that, then I would pretty much be obligated to reenact that legendary scene between Minato and Obito. Anyway I hope I did it justice and that you guys enjoyed it._

_Don't take the scaling system that Summer used too seriously, it isn't a concrete power-scale, but more like a scale of general observations. Semblances can also throw a wrench in it (Ruby is only a student but her Semblance makes her faster than a normal Hunter or Yang's strength is usually equal to her opponent's) so yeah._

_If you feel like some things have been glossed over in the mountains or in the house, then don't fret. They are prime real estate for flashbacks/extra scenes._

_Summer didn't list Tai as a teacher candidate because he is an academy teacher, not an active Hunter that regularly takes on missions._

_Shout-out to anyone who recognized the game they played, it's from a series I watched as a kid and I always get a laugh out of it._

_**Reviews:**_

_TheOrangeLord: Nope._

_Jollyreader23: Glad you liked it._

_mereidinoemiliano: According to the Itachi novels he was taken to the frontlines of the 3rd Great Ninja War and has a strong dislike/wariness of war/conflict because of it. Yes, he was ANBU, but only because it was expected of him to become one, not because of personal preference._

_Lord-Azrael3: I mean, who in their right mind would think using Tsukuyomi on a seven-year old was a good idea? Yeah I have, it's an interesting thought experiment and I liked the psychological aspect of it._

_TRP: *sees last paragraph* Hmm, sure why not? I'll just sketch up something quickly…  
30 minutes, an espresso and a beer later  
TRP: It's wholesome as fuck, doesn't break canon and I actually put in some effort to format it… *stares at Word document in visible disbelief* This isn't an omake… or a plot relevant scene at all… It's, it's… *suddenly stands up and knocks over chair* FILLER!  
TRP: *snaps head in direction of 4th wall and points aggressively through your screen* You made me do this!_

_I-, I don't even know man, I wrote __**filler**__… *shivers* I mean how more Shonen can I get at this point? And I loved it to top it all off! Next time I'll write flashbacks mid-fight scenes that take up 80% of the chapter and are so boring and nonconsequential that everyone just skips them entirely!_

_That was a joke._

_But on a more serious note, I did enjoy writing it a lot but you'll only see it next chapter, this one is big enough as it is._

_Guest: Caryll: *throws Zwei at enemy* Kamui-Zwei-shuriken!_

_Guest: No worries mate, I know you what you mean._

_Guest: Not in the near future, no. I have several scenes planned with her in Act 3 but not sooner I'm afraid._

_: Oh yeah, he's also knighted. He also likes to make Glynda address him as Sir Qrow Branwen._

_Xenokalogia: Just imagine taking Zwei on a walk, I wouldn't even bother buying a leash._

_Other well-wishers: thanks guys!_

_Until next time!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the twelfth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. The first chapter of Act 2 is here, I must say that it's a shorter one than the previous, but then again Act closing chapter will be like that (massive as hell). I've also gotten a few reviews about how Caryll could/should use his foreknowledge… Well, here is an opportunity for him to make use of his genius mind and knowledge._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 12: Nix**

Was this really happening?

I stared blankly ahead as the Kamui portal deposited me in the middle of a clearing. I did my best not to break down completely in front of Yang and Ruby, I even managed to somehow stop my tears from falling any further than they already have, but now that I'm half a world away I couldn't bring myself to cry… I wasn't in shock anymore, nor in denial, I just felt a sort of hollow acceptance seep over me.

She lied to me…

I made her swear it, years ago, that when something like this happened she would tell me, that she would allow me to help her. I trusted her… I trusted her more than anyone else in this world and she just tossed it aside… Despite everything we've been through the best she could do was to ask for forgiveness.

I felt ill.

I wasn't a stranger to pain, I've experienced plenty of it when I died the first time or whenever I used Kamui, but it never bothered me that much. This pain was different… I felt like a piece of my heart was torn away and was only connected to the rest by a feeble string of hope that she was fine, that in the end everything was going to be okay.

What scared me the most was the feeling I had when I thought about the… hole left behind that loosely connected piece, the very real possibility that it was already too late, it felt empty, hollow… I've experienced death before, the infinite and all-consuming darkness that everything eventually lead to.

This hole felt worse than that.

Death was comforting. It was warm, inviting and inevitable. It was a place to rest peacefully for all eternity.

This hole promised nothing but despair and eternal loneliness.

My shaking hand snapped me out of my thoughts and I tried to stop it with my other hand, only to see that it was shaking just as much.

For the first time in years I was truly scared… More scared than when I fought that Wyvern and more scared than when I faced the Apathy. I stared vacantly at my trembling hands for minutes, trying to regain some semblance of control over myself until I managed to ball my hands into fists. I sighed faintly and focused myself on the task at hand. I turned my attention away from my hands and looked at the clearing.

The large clearing in the middle of a forest somewhere in Mistral was currently experiencing dawn as opposed to Patch where they barely entered the night, birds were chirping and the grass swayed gently in the breeze under the orange sky.

It was also completely devoid of the Branwen Tribe.

My eyes widened and I could feel my heart sink downwards, where the hell were they? I thought they weren't supposed to change campsites for another week?! I forced my legs to move and channeled Aura to my eyes, desperately searching for someone, anyone in the clearing and the surrounding forest. The fastest way to Summer was through Raven, I had to find her! After checking the forest, the stream and half the clearing I had finally found a clue in the form of a faint Aura signature, Lily's. I warped myself directly over to it and examined it closely, what I saw made me pause for a second.

It was a black and white face mask infused with Lily's Aura.

I picked it up tentatively and caught the piece of paper that fell out of it. Flipping the paper over I was greeted with my friend's hand writing.

_Hey Caryll!_

_I wrote this letter to tell you that the tribe broke camp and that we're moving to another location to stay at during the winter. Sorry for not telling you sooner, but Raven wanted it done sooner than usual, I don't really blame her… that felt weird to say- write- whatever the thing is that Grimm are migrating through the area so we had to be extra quick. Don't worry though, Raven said that she would pick you up when we finish setting up our stuff. Don't know when that'll be, but honestly the sooner the better, the others can be super boring._

_Anyways, if we somehow don't see each other during the holidays I left your gift there with this note… I know that you don't really consider yourself part of the tribe, but it would mean a lot if you accepted it, plus I made it myself with my Semblance, so you only need to channel some Aura into it and it will be super cool!_

_I would write more, but a lot of people got chewed out by your Aunt for being "lazy" and I would like to avoid ending up as bird food._

_See you soon!_

_Your BFF, Lily Aviva_

The corners of my mouth twitched upwards at the words, somehow this little note temporarily lifted my mood right in the middle of an emotional breakdown. The small drawings of a flower and a fox at the end might have helped too.

I sighed and pocketed the note, there went that plan out the window, I couldn't contact Raven, she didn't own a Scroll, and why would she have one? Even if she had somebody to talk to she could just appear beside them at her leisure. Tracking her down would also be a fool's errand, they probably moved by her Semblance, which left absolutely no trace behind and could take all of them to the other side of Anima in under a few hours.

The small break didn't last long though, my mind went back to running at a thousand rounds a minute, searching, begging for answers. Why? Why did she leave me behind? Did she think I wasn't strong enough? That I wasn't good enough because I didn't beat her? Was this my fault-?

No, I wasn't going there. Never.

I let out a wry and humorless laugh, to think that I went through my resurrection completely unfazed and now I was losing it, all it took was a single message, a simple statement to make me have something that not even death could, an emotional breakdown.

Somehow I didn't feel like myself, it felt like I was detached from reality as I stared ahead with the mask in my almost limp hand. My eyes felt dry, I doubt I could have produced tears even if I wanted to. My throat felt coarse from sobbing for so long earlier, I don't know I how I didn't croak when I said my goodbyes to the girls.

The girls, Gods… Yang probably had an inkling of an idea of what was going on, Ruby on the other hand only knew what I told her. They must be worried sick… for me and Summer. They shouldn't have to experience any of this, the simple fact that it was happening despite everything…

I despised the mere thought of it,

My grip tightened around the wooden mask, but it didn't creak under the strain at all. I could faintly hear the flapping sounds of a giant animal's wings getting closer and closer, but I didn't pay much mind to it, lost in my thoughts as I was.

I've been preparing for this moment for years. I sacrificed my second childhood for it, I devoted myself to making sure the worst wouldn't come to pass… I systematically banished irrelevant thoughts from my mind even as the booming sound of a bloodcurdling caw reached my ears.

The faces of a heartbroken Ruby and Yang flashed before me as I told them that she wouldn't be coming home… that we were alone. My body stopped shaking completely just as an enormous Grimm landed before me and disturbed the previously serene clearing as a result. It was a Giant Nevermore, a quiet portion of my mind observed, a big one too, I thought distractedly as the avian Grimm cawed threateningly at me and charged forwards a moment later.

It never got close.

…

I blinked away the blindness just in time to see the petrified monstrosity crumble mid-air and fall to the ground in large chunks. The following gust of air and dust fluttered my cloak as I felt my being gain a new sense of purpose.

Summer may have went back on her promise…

I lifted the mask to my face and pulled the black strap over the back of my head. I channeled Aura into it as instructed and felt the wood shift to my desire until it settled into form once again.

…But I would rather die before I break mine.

A single glowing Silver Eye stared out determinedly at the world and I disappeared into Kamui.

* * *

It was around midnight in Vale. The streets were mostly quiet, empty of people except for me. The weather didn't look promising either, looking up at the dark sky I could make out grey rain clouds moving slowly over the city from the south. The quiet calmness of the night was occasionally disturbed by the sounds of thunder… and the revving of a motorcycle.

At hearing the familiar sound, I hopped down from the roof of a book store and moved to stand under one of the lights. Sure enough, a few seconds later a black and red motorbike rounded the corner of the street and skidded to a stop before me. The biker was a young woman who wore casual clothing; blue form fitting jeans, a black shirt and a crimson leather jacket with a black helmet. She killed the engine and looked at me through her darkened visor.

"Caryll, is that you?" She asked hesitantly.

"Hey Scarlet," I greeted my old friend amicably. We've kept contact over the years and maintained a good, if somewhat weird, friendship. We've done the odd favor for each other, sparred, helped each other academically or just hung out when we had the time. She was actually close to graduating from Beacon, as a Valedictorian of course, so we had bit less time than before, but we managed.

"Hey, you little monster," she greeted back and took off her helmet and let her crimson hair fall to her shoulders. "Didn't recognize you for a second with the hood and cloak, oh and the freaky swirly mask didn't help either," she quipped playfully and crossed her arms. "What's with the getup anyways? It makes you look mysterious… and suspicious as hell."

"Let's just say that I would prefer to hide my face while I'm in the kingdoms." Technically, I did just run away from home and I know that despite my warning Tai and Qrow would go after me to take me back. They would also no doubt get the police involved, maybe ask for help directly from Ozpin and send some Hunter-in-trainings after me, so yes, this setup was necessary for the time being.

You may think I was being arrogant and stupid for not searching for Summer with them, even I thought about entertaining the idea of working together, but one memory from my past life put a stop to that train of thought exceptionally fast.

They searched for Summer in canon, and she still died.

That told me that no matter what trail they would follow, it would be too late to save her even if they do find her. By going out there on my own and following my own leads, separate from theirs, I could rule out several false leads by day one.

"I saw smoke coming from the docks while I was driving here…" Scarlet furrowed her brows at me. "That wasn't you was it?" She asked hesitantly to which I just shook my head.

"I just did what a crook in a bowler hat and a midget with an umbrella couldn't," I shrugged nonchalantly, if I were to go after Summer on my own then I would need resources; money, Dust and weapons. I was broke since I was only a kid and I didn't want to take money from home, not that would have been enough for what I have planned anyways. I also decided that it was time to get my signature weapon made, I would most likely need it in my search. The only problem was that no shop would service a wanted 10 year old in Vale.

My solution to this? Steal a freight container or two of Dust from the docks in Vale and if the containers had a white snowflake on their side then oh well, my bad I guess. With that much Dust at my disposal I could find the black market in Mistral for example and trade it for supplies, equipment and a true weapon.

"That didn't explain anything," Scarlet pointed out with a raised finger.

"I know," I responded evenly.

"Alright then, I'll bite. What did you call me here for? Whose body are we getting rid of?" She mock sighed and I smiled under my mask. Scarlet was just that kind of friend and honestly it wouldn't be the weirdest favor we've done for each other, top three, maybe.

"Nothing so trivial," I responded truthfully, in reality I could just warp away a corpse into Kamui and that would be that. "I just thought it was time I visited the school you've been talking about for years." My visible eye crinkled in anticipation.

* * *

"It's stunning," I declared and turned away from the night visage of Beacon Academy and walked away with a specific destination in my mind. Its towering spires and grandiose architecture was still breathtaking even with everything being shrouded in darkness. Honestly if I weren't in such a hurry I would have liked to take an actual tour of the place.

"What are you doing?" Scarlet caught up to me quickly and fell into step beside me.

"Something that a fiery bitch couldn't," I replied evenly. Well, actually she did do it, I'll just do it with more style.

"That still doesn't explain anything," she huffed.

"I know," I said and turned on another illuminated walkway.

"Will I get in trouble for this?" She sighed resignedly and I shrugged in response.

"Only if we get caught," I told her honestly, there was no point in lying.

"Do you even have an idea of what you're doing?" She asked as we rounded a corner of hedge and was greeted with the towering visage of the CCT center in Vale.

"I do, and with your help I can actually pull it off-" I stopped in my tracks as my concealed glowing left eye picked up something I expected to see, but didn't actually look forward to meeting. "Act normal," I turned to Scarlet before warping myself away into the darkness.

Scarlet blinked perplexedly at my disappearance. "Miss Obsidian?" She startled at the questioning tone of Glynda Goodwitch. She turned to face the young Deputy Headmistress and the two conversed awkwardly, mostly Scarlet, about late night activities and such. Seeing that it was going too slowly for my tastes, as I wanted to spend as little time in Beacon and Vale as possible, I warped behind the distracted blonde and placed a hand on her shoulder. Learning from my mistake with Summer, I warped her away into Kamui the moment we made contact.

"W-what did you do? Did you kill her?!" Scarlet panicked at her teacher's sudden disappearance and looked at me incredulously.

"She's fine. I just sent her away for a bit," I told her and turned away in the direction of the CCT.

"But… She saw me, we're busted. Oh Gods, I'm so dead…" Her face paled at the implication of her getting caught.

"Relax, I have everything handled… Just think of a landing strategy and everything will be fine," I stated completely unfazed by this turn of events. Getting found out was annoying, but not unexpected. At seeing my unperturbed demeanor Scarlet managed to calm herself down and we reached the entrance of the CCT tower.

"So, what's the next step? The CCT is guarded heavily, there are guards everywhere and there are state of the art security systems placed over every visible surface, there is no way we could get in undetected-… or you could do just that, yeah that works too," she cut herself off awkwardly as she saw me simply walking through the heavily reinforced Dust-laced steel door. "Hey and what about me? These things are sealed airtight you know!" I sighed and popped back outside and touched her shoulder, a moment later she was transported into Kamui.

After suppressing my Aura to nearly undetectable levels and simply walking, jumping and warping through walls, elevator shafts and a few security guards I finally reached my destination, the main server room. I took off my hood and mask and warped Scarlet back to this reality.

"Okay, that was freaky," she shivered slightly, I found that others find Kamui somewhat cold.

"We're here," I announced and took out my Scroll. "You've said that you study network engineering, right?" I asked hopefully. Summer taught me how to track and how to hunt while Raven thought me how to disappear and how not to be found after. Using their knowledge and the clues Summer left behind led me nowhere simply because she left none. She didn't tell anyone where she was going and she piloted a Bullhead herself, for all intents and purposes she was untraceable…

With the knowledge they possessed.

It seemed like Summer forgot another little detail I told her about myself; I studied network engineering in my past life. A lot of that knowledge was forgotten over a decade, but I remembered one thing crystal clearly.

You can track devices by their network connection.

"Yeah, I took it up as a side-class. It's relatively easy and pretty much free credit for me," she nodded positively. From what I've gathered from our conversations Beacon offered its students education not related to being a Hunter, I think it was to help retired Hunters fit into society better after they put down their weapons.

"Can you search for this number?" I tentatively held out my Scroll with Summer's contact info on it. Scarlet took the Scroll and sat down in front of one of the computers.

"Err, I'm gonna need a password, I'm not a hacker," she turned to me hesitantly at seeing the locked screen of the administrative program on the computer.

"It's the Wi-Fi password," I responded immediately in a bored tone. Scarlet blinked perplexedly and typed it in.

It worked.

I turned away from the screen and let my gaze wonder around the spacious room filled with terminals. I could easily spot several security cameras that probably saw us intruding, but I wasn't worried. Everything technological was connected to the CCT, even the cameras. Now that we have administrative access to the entire network we could just disconnect them or erase their memories easily.

"Caryll, I've got something, but I don't think it's what you want to see," Scarlet said and I turned back to the screen to see the only message I did not want to see.

Device not found.

A pang of fear shot through my chest as I gulped inaudibly, this didn't mean anything right? Hunter Scrolls get destroyed all the time, right? She could still be fine.

I clenched my fists and sighed, I couldn't give up this soon.

"Then tell me what relay tower did this message use to enter the network." I massaged the bridge of my nose and gestured at the video message I've got a couple hours prior. Scarlet nodded and went on to work while I struggled not to jump to conclusions. Finally, after a few agonizingly slow minutes she spoke up.

"Well, if you're going after this I'd suggest packing sun block," she declared evenly. "It says Relay Tower R13, that's in southern Vacuo." She motioned at a list she brought up to crosscheck the results.

Vacuo, huh? Could be a lot closer but at least it's not Solitas and Atlas, I hate the snow.

"Thanks Scarlet, you're a lifesaver." I really hope that's the case. "Could you also do a few other things for me…" Now the question remained…

What the hell was in Vacuo?

* * *

"And that's done," Scarlet announced and handed me back my Scroll. I pocketed it and allowed a relieved smile to form on my face.

"Thanks Scarlet, I really appreciate your help." I put a hand on her shoulder. "If you ever need something, just give me a call."

"Don't mention it, this is what friends are for," she denied with a wave of her hand. "But I would like to hear how you're planning on getting us out of here, and not land me in trouble," she frowned worriedly.

"I hope your landing strategy is top notch," I smiled mischievously and warped her away into Kamui before she could utter a word in response. I turned around and walked to the large glass windows. I channeled Aura into my fist and punched a large panel of glass. It shattered into a million pieces and I was instantly blasted with the winds of the brewing storm over Vale.

I hummed thoughtfully, wondering about the next step of my plan. I had a lead on Summer, granted it was on the other side of the world in the middle of nowhere but still. I couldn't fly there, they wouldn't allow me onto an airship without an ID, which I couldn't give without revealing who I was and getting the police chasing after me in the process. I couldn't fly an airship and hijacking one was just asking for trouble too. Stowing away on a boat was an option but that could take weeks to get to Vacuo's northern shores. That left me with…

I felt an odd disturbance in the Kamui dimension and I summoned it beside me with a smile.

"Hey Zwei," I greeted the small dog with an affectionate ear rub. Zwei barked happily in response and jumped on my shoulder. I summoned a dog treat for him and pulled up my hood and put on my mask.

"I hope you like trains, buddy. We'll be on one for a while," I stated resolutely. It wasn't ideal, but it was preferable to taking a boat. Zwei's appearance also reminded me that Tai and Qrow probably got home, which meant that they would soon contact Ozpin and Glynda.

I activated Kamui and ejected two people out of the broken window. The two women, one blonde and one redhead flailed wildly in the air for a moment or two as they fell, but they were too slow to correct their postures, resulting in… painful landings for the both of them.

"What the hell?" Scarlet growled and I decided not to stick around for the aftermath. She now had an alibi of being abducted by a masked man, she was smart enough to get out of this without much trouble.

"I've been falling for 30 minutes!" Was the last thing I've heard from an especially irate sounding Glynda Goodwitch before disappearing in a swirling whirlpool of air.

Hmm, bottomless chasms indeed.

* * *

The Forever Fall forest was a breathtaking sight even at night. The vermilion leaves swayed wildly in the wind and the rain. The likely possibility of Grimm showing up from the thick foliage did nothing to detract from the beauty of the place, in fact it even helped to create the atmosphere of a beautiful and deadly reserve of nature.

Zwei barked at me from the cliffside, shaking me out of my thoughts. I got up from under the canopy of a tree and walked to the edge of the cliff, cloak now thoroughly drenched with rain. Zwei wagged his tail happily and looked into the distance. Turning my attention there I saw a train heading through the valley at high speeds.

The tracks led westwards, in the direction of Vacuo.

I found it ironic that I happened to stumble upon the exact same spot the Black trailer took place at, but I took solace in the fact that I wasn't going to hijack the train, I only wanted to catch a ride with it.

I nodded at Zwei and he disappeared inside Kamui, I took a deep breath and warped myself over the speeding train. Gravity took hold of me and I fell through the roof before landing on the floor with a dull thud. It was a bit anticlimactic, but a landing strategy was a landing strategy.

I looked around the inside of the car, it was spacious and much larger than the train cars back in my previous life, but thankfully there were no security droids to greet me. Instead there were only crates of Dust and luggage stacked to the sides. It seemed like I chose the right car to appear in, it would have been a bit awkward to land in the middle of a passenger car, dressed up like I was.

Seeing no immediate threat, I summoned Zwei from Kamui and pulled down my hood. I let him run around and explore the place while I slumped down against a crate of Dust with the Schnee logo on it and sighed tiredly. Dawn was breaking soon and I was exhausted from worrying, searching and planning all night… I just wanted to lie down, sleep and wake up next morning, only to realize that this was just a bad dream and hug Summer senseless.

It was a nice fantasy, I smiled to myself tiredly and shifted my mask to the side of my head. I was also hungry, I didn't have a bite to eat since this-, yesterday morning and I simply couldn't bring myself to eat after Summer's-… after that message. I ran a tired hand through my hair and decided to Kamui myself some cookies and eat them at a slow pace, they tasted unusually bland compared to what we usually make with Summer, but I had a feeling that the normally delicious pastries weren't at fault this time…

Suddenly a bullet slammed through my body and embedded itself into the crate behind me. I startled and looked upwards with alert eyes… right into the barrel of a… cane? Silently I thanked Raven for her lessons about always being on guard, even if they got to the point where I couldn't drink some tea in peace whenever I visited.

"Thank you, but I'm not iron deficient," I said to the old man aiming the cane at my chest.

"I didn't know ghosts of children frequented this train," He said, mostly to himself while I glanced at the sleeping form Zwei on one of the luggage crates. His voice sounded just as old and raspy as he looked. He looked to be in his late seventies or early eighties with swept back snow white hair and a few liver spots on his wrinkled, pale skin. He wore elegant navy blue pants and shirt under a white overcoat that was designed to ward off the cold. His neck was also loosely wrapped in a red scarf.

"Can I help you somehow?" I yawned in response and returned to munching on my cookie. I was too tired at this point to care about being found out.

"What are you doing here and what is your name, girl?" He demanded firmly and I stopped my chewing to process what he just said.

…

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly." I put down my cookie and looked him in the eye.

"I said what are you doing stowing away on this train, girl," he repeated with his raspy voice.

"I'm a boy," I shot him a deadpan look.

"Don't play games with me, I think I could differentiate a girl from a boy, you're definitely a girl," the old man countered and looked at me expectantly with his ice blue eyes.

…

"I'm a boy, you senile old reindeer." I glared at him with my own silver ones, was he serious? Granted my cloak concealed my body pretty well and my low ponytail could be a cause for confusion but still!

"Whatever you say, now answer me, who are you and what are you doing here?" He scoffed roughly and placed the intricate looking cane back against the floor. He probably realized that it was pointless to threaten me.

"…My name is Caryll Rose and I'm a Hunter Apprentice," I introduced myself while taking my mask off. I felt comfortable with revealing my identity now that we were outside the kingdoms. News haven't spread that far about my disappearance and I doubted they would stop an entire train just for one stowaway anyways. "As for why I'm here, I'm on a mission and just wanted a lift to Vacuo, that's all," I shrugged and dug out my Hunter ID. I tossed it to the man who deftly caught it and read it over.

"Who's your teacher?" He grunted when he reached the line where it was supposed to be written.

"I don't have one yet, though I was tutored for years by Summer Rose and Raven Branwen," I answered and returned to eating. Both were well known Huntresses, one was one the fastest Huntresses on Remnant and the other gathered an infamous reputation as a universally feared Huntress as well.

"I see the resemblance," he noted gruffly. "Why are you here? And don't lie this time. If you were truly on a mission then you wouldn't have stowed away." I threw an offended look at him in response. To think I was about to offer him a cookie even though he was this rude to me.

"I am on a mission. I'm just on the run at the same time too," I allowed and looked to the side. "My mother went missing not too long ago south of Vacuo and I'm tracking her down on my own, so I can't exactly get there lawfully." I looked back at him with steely eyes. "Nothing will stop me from getting there, so if you have something against that, tell me now," I dared him to say anything, I may have been exhausted but I was ready to fight a retired old Hunter with his own IV stand if it came down to it.

The man opened his mouth to say something when the door separating the cars opened and one of the crew members stepped inside. He saw the old man, Zwei and me and furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Sir, is that a-?" "He's my Apprentice," the old man cut him off and took out a pen from his coat. "I apologize for not introducing him earlier, the dog is his partner," he coughed into his hand.

"Oh, I see. Forgive me sir. Have a good night," the man amended quickly and left as quickly as he came. I blinked perplexedly at the exchange and a moment later caught my ID that was thrown at me.

"If you're really a Hunter, then make yourself useful and help me guard this train," he told me and moved to follow the man from earlier. "Come on, wake up your dog and I'll show you to our quarters," he grunted and left, leaving me behind in stunned silence. Finally, I glanced down at my lap and read the freshly signed line on my ID.

Nicholas Schnee.

"I'm making friends wherever I go…" I sighed and got up to follow my new teacher with a freshly awakened Zwei in tow.

* * *

_Caryll is a trap. It's confirmed._

_TRP: *Sees people already writing reviews about Lily having Wood style from Naruto and calling this story a Naruto reference* Oh no you don't! *gives explanation*_

_Lily's Semblance isn't from Naruto, it's actually a lot like Kurama's ability called Demonic Plant Manipulation from Yu Yu Hakusho, so yeah, I don't only reference Naruto people, I appreciate the classics just as much. Plus, she's the Spring Maiden, so it just fit, you know? Spring, flower theme, Plant Manipulation._

_Also, useless trivia fact: Aviva is Hebrew for spring born._

_For clarification for those who couldn't guess; Caryll's mask is like Obito's orange mask, only with a white basis and with bulging swirls (that are painted black) converging on his right eye._

_I played around with the idea of Caryll not being able to call upon his eyes to petrify the Giant Nevermore. It was meant to reflect his emotional state and conflicted thoughts about Summer. It would also have been used to further drive in the concept that it was because of Summer's love that he was able to awaken/use his eyes, but then I came upon this line while listening to the Volume 6 soundtrack:_

"_Desire to preserve life is powering the light" –Miracle_

_It seems like Summer was wrong, you can actually rush basic biology. In my interpretation the power of Silver Eyes are defined by three factors; practice/experience, physical age and desire (I can make a chart for you guys if you really want my in depth take on this, but it wouldn't go over well on FFN). Despite his questionable emotional status Caryll wants nothing more than to save Summer (preserve life). This caused the development of his eyes to jump several years in advance._

_What does this mean for Caryll? It means that the emotional trauma of Summer leaving caused his eyes to almost reach full maturity and that they will reach their full potential soon. Talk about being the light of someone's life._

_Hah! You thought I forgot about that little OC? I would never do such a thing, and I did say I would be bringing her back._

_Omakes:_

_**If physics worked on Remnant**_

_Young Summer:*Mutters under breath* Stupid grandpa, my idea is amazing! *notches Stormlance Arrow, then continues in a mocking tone* Summer you can't create an arrow that has the weight of a truck and the speed of a lightning bolt when fired, that thing would have too much kinetic energy blah blah. Honestly can't he see my genius? *rolls eyes and takes aim over the valley*  
*Arrow launches, cracks the sound barrier and leaves a pressure wave behind that destroys everything in its wake. A millisecond later the arrow hits a mountain and detonates with the force of several dozen nuclear warheads and produces a mushroom cloud in the distance*  
Summer:…  
Old Man Caryll: *Speaks from inside the house* Summer dear, what was that?  
Summer: N-nothing grandpa! You can go back to playing Bingo online! *whispers to herself with twinkling eyes while looking at the enormous mushroom cloud* Awesome…_

_Okay, so I made this scene at the request of Lord-Azrael3 and intended it as an omake, but after doing some formatting on it I found out that it's not against canon and it's just plain fluff._

_I have no idea what I should do with this, so I'll leave it up to you guys to decide its fate. Should it be canon and worked into the story? (into Chapter 1 with some slight modifications) or should I leave it as a simple omake here?_

* * *

_**Baby Blues**_

_What was she doing here again? Raven asked herself for the millionth time that hour. A quick glance to her excitable team leader and friend provided the same answer as before._

_They were having a baby shower for her…_

_It was Summer's idea._

"_Aw, I can't believe it's only a few months away! I'm gonna be an Aunt!" Summer squealed excitedly and continued bombarding her with suggestions that honestly made no sense to her, why did it matter what gender the baby was when they were painting their rooms? She sipped from her tea distastefully, all of this was made worse by one thing… Her eye twitched as she felt him watching her._

_Summer suddenly excused herself for a moment and ran into the kitchen for something. She used this opportunity to turn her head and sneer at the brat in the doorway._

_He was just standing there… menacingly._

_With a tray of cookies and a glass of milk in hand the annoyingly smart three year old brat of Summer just stood there and gave her an oh-so-satisfied smile._

"_Isn't it past the bedtime brats like you usually have?" She couldn't hold it back anymore, she needed to speak up, the lump in her stomach, pregnancy hormones and Summer's incessant babbling was clawing away at her sanity._

"_Oh, I took a nap earlier just to see this," the brat countered with a smirk and took a gulp of milk from his glass._

"_To see what exactly?" She asked dangerously, unfortunately Summer came back at this moment and was trying to show her the difference between two similarly colored napkins to prove some point of hers. She bit back a suffering sigh and pretended to listen, Summer was weird and had even weirder ideas. She felt the couch shift beside her and glanced to the side to see the brat sitting beside her._

"_To see you suffer through this, of course," he whispered quietly enough that while Summer didn't hear anything, Raven could make out his words perfectly. She clenched her fists and teeth and turned back in the direction of Summer._

"_Words cannot describe how much I despise you," she gritted out quietly, she didn't dare saying it louder and risk Summer hearing her._

"_Is that your way of saying that I made you speechless, or that I took your breath away?" He tilted his head to the side with a grin and she fumed in place, normally she wouldn't be so defenseless in their verbal spars but she was on the back foot now. Her head was a jumbled mess of pregnancy hormones and she couldn't even speak up unless she wanted Summer to be involved. So, she decided to wait and pay him back at a later time instead, preferably after a few months of giving birth._

"_So, Rae! What color did you want to paint the baby's room?" Summer's direct question snapped her out of her scheming session and put her on the spot, she honestly had no clue, that was Taiyang's job anyway._

"_Uhh… Red and black?" She asked more than stated. She waited for a response from her friend, who seemed to deeply examine her face for something, for what felt like an eternity._

"Pfft,_ that's a good one Rae! But seriously what color did you have in mind?" She laughed her comment off and leaned on her hands as she looked at Raven. What was wrong with those colors? She thought they were fine…_

"_How about sunflower yellow and mahogany brown?" The save came from the most unlikely source. They turned to look at Caryll who was watching them while munching on a cookie and kicking his legs back and forth._

"…_Sweetie you're a genius! They sound amazing and they are unisex too!" Summer exclaimed and went on another tirade about different shadings for colors._

"_Are those even real colors?" Raven asked herself with a scrunched up nose, they sounded made up._

"_I have no idea, but if you say it confidently enough she'll believe you anyway," the brat shrugged and went back to eating his cookies._

"_-So yeah, I would personally go with a shade of silver like I did with Caryll but that's okay too- Oh, oh, oh, do you know the gender yet and did you and Tai talk about names?" Summer cut herself off and regarded Raven with anticipation._

"_No, I –" "The baby will be a girl and they will name her Yang," the brat cut her off, she was seriously trying to restrain herself from strangling somebody. Summer then did her thing and gave everyone, mainly herself, an in-depth explanation about the cuteness of the name when something occurred to Raven._

"_How do you know it will be a girl? I haven't told anyone yet." She glared at the younger of the two Roses suspiciously._

"_You just did." He put up a finger as if to prove a point and took a gulp of milk, oh how she wished he would choke on it._

"_That still doesn't explain anything about how you know the name I had in mind," she pressed onwards, not willing to let this go. The brat looked thoughtful for a few moments before shrugging._

"_Call it a brother's intuition," he smiled and she gave him a blank stare._

"_You two wouldn't be related, at all." The brat looked at her with that fake-innocent smile he always seemed to have when he was about to say-_

"_I wonder about that." -That. Whenever he has this expression it feels like he's in on some inside joke that only he's privy to, and the punchline was about to hit you in the face like a bag of bricks._

_She hated it._

_She sighed and turned her attention back to Summer's rambling. She couldn't decide which one of them was more aggravating. Both of them were grating on her nerves in some way, the only difference between the two was that Summer had mellowed out somewhat during the years while her brat was just straight up unpredictable-_

_Raven felt something poke her on her shoulder and she turned to see the brat smiling brightly at her while offering her a single cookie._

…

_She swiped it form his hand and ate it while glaring ahead._

_But maybe she could tolerate them at least…_

"_Can I touch your belly? I'm curious if I can feel my baby sister in there," the brat asked wonderingly._

"_Try it and I'll throw you out the window," she replied curtly and stole another cookie from his plate._

"_Fair enough."_

* * *

_And that's that. Again, this has no plot relevance at all, it's just some wholesome fluff I threw together. I'm not sure about making this canon so I'll leave the decision up to you guys._

_**Reviews:**_

_Zentari2238: I don't mind genuine criticism, but could you actually be specific about it? Yeah, I get that not everyone likes the Hiraishin here, unfortunately for those people it's something I can't and won't change. Can't, because I already planned the entirety of Act 2 with in mind since Chapter 1 and changing it now would throw a whole lot of it out the window. Won't, because I don't want to. It fits. Don't like it? Too bad, it's literally one of the few things I won't be changing no matter what people say._

_And I don't know what "forced drama" you're talking about, like at all. Summer is dead in canon, everybody knows this, everybody expects it and I literally get messages and reviews that ask me not to kill her. And it's not like it hasn't been addressed in earlier chapters either, we mostly see the story through Caryll's POV and he mentioned it several times already, especially in Chapter 5. His literal words were "She goes on missions all the time, sometimes for weeks on end, knowing which mission would be her last was simply impossible"_

_Look, I'm open to constructive criticism, I've accepted it in this story before and changed things accordingly, but your argument is vague as hell and nothing I can work with._

_Blaze2121: Caryll mentioned Maria in Chapter 5, but Summer doesn't know about her._

_RedShirt1453: Thank you for the kind words, it feels nice to know people can connect with characters I write. Regarding the detachment and stuff, there are reasons for the opposite being true here._

_From a Meta standpoint I simply wanted to do something… different. The "formula" you mentioned is tried and tested, but it gets stale in my opinion. After a while of reading SIs following this formula you can easily predict the entire outline of the story (mc gets reincarnated, mental breakdown, denial, mc wants to go home, gets wrapped up in plot etc.) I didn't want that in this story, I wanted it to be unpredictable for readers, to keep them on their toes, if you will. Like for example could say what would have happened in chapter 9, let's say 5 chapters before that? Or what do you think will happen 5 chapters from now on? You can't for sure, but you can with that formula since everybody knows the standard canon timeline._

_From a narrative standpoint I would suggest re-reading Chapter 1. I explained it then that Caryll basically had 2 years to just __**think. **__No matter how you look at it, that's a lot of time to think about his situation and come to terms with it, and he more or less did. As for the whole "you're not a real person" thing and why he doesn't care about that I can tell you a somewhat fitting comparison._

_Imagine that you're shown video footage of a random person, every day of your life since the age of 10. You're told that they are paid actors, like in drama shows or something, you watch them for years and years, accepting them as not real, just as characters played by actors, then one day you see that person walking across the street, you see them interact with people, eat, drink and just generally behave the same way you saw them for years. Then they tell you that wasn't an actor, just a random person they showed you for years (The Truman Show, basically). This will cause a duality in you for sure, logic says they're real, but your mind/memories say they aren't simply because you lived your whole life thinking they weren't one._

_But in the end, it doesn't matter what you think, the truth is that they are real, nothing can change that._

_Caryll accepted this reality, mostly. There was still some disconnect, him not calling Summer Mom in the beginning showed that, but that eroded over an entire decade to the point where him calling Summer by her name is just a stubborn formality at this point._

_You could also argue that his dream of "a world where two children can play without having to worry about their lives" is also a form of stubborn detachment from Remnant, he didn't like Remnant before dying and after living in it for an entire decade, seeing his sister almost get killed while fighting soulless abominations all his life he borderline despises Remnant and sees it his personal goal in life "to take this cold, unforgiving world and right its wrongs"._

_He hates the world, but it only encourages him to change it for the better._

_As for the whole fore/outside knowledge thing, well… he couldn't do much until now (besides some concrete changes he's made: Raven not being a child murderer and not fallen into darkness like in canon and the Spring Maiden (Lily) surviving) but now with Summer's life on the line you can bet he'll not shy away from drastic measures._

_Exiled Soul Nomad: There is this metaphor with pebbles causing ripples in a pond. Caryll prefers it with depth charges and tidal waves instead of pebbles and ripples._

_JackTheSpades: Nah man, killing a main character off-screen would just be bad writing from my part._

_Other well-wishers: thanks guys!_

_Until next time!_


	13. Chapter 13

_Hello there I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the thirteenth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. Right now I don't have much to say other than that at the request of a reader responses to reviews and such will be placed at the end of the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 13: Heredis**

Bunk beds, never thought I would ever sleep in one. Not in my last life and not in this one. Back home on Patch we all had our separate beds and I never planned on sleeping in another bed that wasn't in the Kamui dimension either. It just made sense to me, when you sleep you do it in a safe area where you know no harm will come to you while you're vulnerable. Home was safe in that regard, Kamui was, well Kamui, apart from Raven not even the Gods could disturb me there so I preferred spending my nights away from home there.

Not on this train though, due to the nature of Kamui, if I were to warp myself there and back the next morning I would just end up on some railway tracks in the middle of nowhere, with the train already a thousand of so kilometers away by then. This didn't mean that short range teleportation wasn't practical, it was no problem for me at all, but it meant that I had to bunk in my assigned quarters with my new teacher.

And wasn't that a surprise? I honestly thought that old geezer had passed away a decade or so ago. Granted sometimes he did look like he just escaped from the morgue, but I wasn't one to judge, it would only make us a pair of dead men walking, or something.

I chuckled and shook my head as I stared at the ceiling of our cabin. Contrary to what you would expect it wasn't much, a bunk bed for the two of us, with me on the top and him on the bottom one, a little nightstand beside it, a wardrobe in one corner and a table in the other. It gave off a bit of an archaic feeling, the walls were made out of varnished redwood while the ceiling was made of some copper-like metal. All in all, it had a homey feeling for a Hunter's quarters.

I frowned a little bit at the thought, it also came as a surprise to see the old Schnee still working as a Hunter, if I remembered correctly he was 79 years old by now, way past the retirement age of any person, let alone of a world renowned figure like him. To see him still hobbling around with his cane raised a few questions in my mind.

"Are you done brooding yet?" Speak of the devil, my newest teacher poked me roughly with his cane. I frowned and turned my head to look at him standing beside our beds with a wrinkly frown of his own.

"I'm not brooding. Brooding would entail that I'm not doing anything productive. No, I'm planning," I grumbled and shook my head.

"Sure you are. So, if you're done sulking in the sheets we have things to discuss," he ignored me and hobbled over to our desk and set down beside it.

My stomach rumbled and I sighed, I knew full well that my mind was just trying to distract itself from more… undesirable thoughts, but it wasn't working that well. I glanced at my Scroll to see the time and hopped off my bed onto the hard floor. I somehow managed to get a few hours of sleep in this morning and it was near midday now, I could certainly get a bite to eat.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked as I put on my cloak and boots, but I left the mask on the nightstand, I wouldn't be needing it until I reached Vacuo.

"Originally I was the only trained Hunter on this train, but with your appearance we can work out a schedule for the both of us." He paused and coughed raspingly into his hand. "Now that there are two of us we can organize the day into two twelve hours guard shifts. Counting with eight hour sleeping periods leaves us with eight hours a day to work on your training," he told me with a thinking expression.

"My training? You're going to train me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Slow witted weasel, I've taken you as my student, of course I'm going to teach you," he grumbled dismissively at the mere notion.

"I just thought that that was a spur of the moment kind of decision or something," I shrugged as I glanced outside the window to see a bothersome sight; the storm that raged above Vale the previous night gradually turned into a heavy snowfall the further westward we travelled. It wasn't a problem now, but it was freezing outside and you guessed it, I would probably have to patrol outside of the train too to check on the turrets and such. "Or at least that's the only way I could rationalize it." I couldn't really see any logical reason for him to take me on as a student, at all.

"I have my reasons for making that decision, that's all you need to know for now," old man Schnee replied cryptically, making me sigh internally, it seems like he was the kind of person that required mental gymnastics to fully comprehend.

"Whatever you say old man," I waved him off, I was too hungry for that kind of mental task. "What do you want to teach me anyways? I mean don't take it the wrong way but a dry twig looks sturdier than you," I gestured at the cane and thought about his seemingly random coughs.

"Hmm, I may be a few decades past my prime but I assure you that I could still beat the insolence out of you without having to stand up from this chair." He shot me a challenging stare to which I responded with an unimpressed look. Whatever effect the stare might have had disappeared when the old Schnee went into a rather nasty coughing fit. All doubt and playfulness melted from my face and I placed a hand on the old man's shoulder while he recovered.

"Are you okay? Do you need to lie down?" I asked worriedly, I held no ill will towards the man, in fact I was somewhat grateful to him for taking me on, even if I had no idea why he had done so, it certainly made my journey west much more comfortable.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just need to rest for a bit," he shook his head reassuringly. "But not before sending you off to your shift. I've already notified the crew about you and I synchronized the train's defenses with your Scroll while you slept." See what I mean about vulnerability? "Familiarize yourself with the train, do some rounds, get yourself seen by the passengers and come back at around eight in the evening, we'll begin your lessons then," he instructed me and I helped him onto his bed. I looked at Zwei lying on my bed and nodded at him. The corgi lolled its tongue and barked once knowingly, he would watch over him while I was gone.

* * *

The trans-Sanusian railway was a network of railways built not long after the end of the Great War as a sign of cooperation between the kingdoms, much in the same vein as the CCT network. It allowed easy and reliable travel between Vale and Vacuo as the network of interconnecting railways provided several routes between settlements, this redundancy helped greatly against Grimm and bandit attacks, another positive side effect of this maze was that maintenance on individual rails could be neglected for an increased period of time, which was a godsend in the middle of the Grimmlands where such activity would only entail trouble.

It could still be leagues faster. I scowled and flipped to the next page of Ninjas of Love. I was currently in the buffet car, eating some sort of fried fish dish while trying to distract myself from the frustrated waiting.

It would take us five more days to reach Vacuo.

Five agonizing days.

They say that the first 24 hours are the most important when looking for someone who's gone missing. I checked my Scroll and noted that time ran out a couple of hours ago. My grip on my fork tightened and the metal bent like clay in my hand.

I put down the book and fork and massaged my temples with a sigh. I shouldn't give off negativity like that, I was on a job and we entered the Grimmlands not so long ago. Not that it would matter if I did either way if I were to be entirely honest. Almost every passenger I came across just oozed off some form of subtle negativity that would surely attract some minor Grimm to us, given enough time. I just didn't know what caused these emotions to surface, the service was good, the weather could be better, but the cars have heating and we're not being delayed so what was everyone so upset about-?

I felt a presence beside my table and I turned to see a small girl standing there and just staring between me and my food. I blinked in surprise and then in recognition.

Ah, that would explain the negativity.

"Hey there, little miss. Can I help you?" I greeted the small raven haired girl amicably. She nodded and settled on looking me shyly in the eyes.

"H-hi, I just wanted to give this to you," the amber eyed girl said and held out a flyer to me to take. I raised an amused eyebrow and took it from her.

"The White Fang, huh?" I murmured as I briefly looked over the small leaflet with the original logo printed on it. "I didn't know they accepted members this young," I remarked to the girl, she couldn't have been older than six.

"All Faunus must do their part if we are to be equal," the cat Faunus girl declared proudly.

"Those are some big words for someone so small," I chuckled humorously as her cat ears tensed in what I assumed to be indignation. "Say, where are your parents now? I hope you're not alone on this train," I asked a bit more seriously, kids shouldn't run around unsupervised like- oh I think I just became a hypocrite.

"Mom is sleeping and Dad is over there arguing with his friend, again, so I decided to go around and spread the word until they finish." She turned away and pointed to another part of the coffee house styled car. I followed her line of sight and saw a bearded man with a large, bulky frame dressed in a purple fur coat arguing animatedly with a dark skinned tiger Faunus woman while seemingly waiting for their orders.

Of course, only I could be so fortunate to guard the exact same train that the travelling White Fang and a bunch of uncomfortable or straight up racist humans were using to get to Vacuo.

"Hmm, would you tell me more about the White Fang then? I'm curious." And I really don't want you going around and inadvertently agitating a bunch of closet racists, causing even more negativity and a Grimm attack before I even finish my dinner.

"I don't…" She looked around unsurely, torn between continuing her small campaign and the chance to convert another person to the cause. I took pity on her and basically chose for her by pushing my dish across the table to the seat opposite of me and grabbed a new fork for her to eat with. "YeahIwouldlovetothanks!" She disappeared from where she was standing and reappeared opposite of me and quickly dug into the fish before her. I rolled my eyes and smiled at her when something occurred to me.

"Oh, my name is Caryll by the way," I introduced myself, hoping to leave a good impression on who could very well be my future sister-in-law.

"I'm Blake," she replied curtly and continued inhaling my dinner.

"Nice to meet you Blake… So, how is it like having adorable kitty ears like that?"

* * *

"I'm back old man," I greeted as I stepped inside our cabin, shutting the door soon after. Dinner went fairly interesting, Blake seemed really happy she could talk with a human about Faunus issues, which I'm not going to lie… it pained me to hear a six year old talking about racial issues… it just felt so wrong, but otherwise she seemed to have a good time right up until her father came to pick her up and thanked me for keeping her out of trouble while he was away.

"Call me Nicholas, I don't need you to remind me of my old age every time you address me," Nicholas grunted from our desk and gestured to the bed on the other side of the room.

"Call me Caryll then, I get enough demeaning remarks about my age from my Aunt, believe me," I stated and moved to sit down on the lower bed. He huffed and nodded in response.

"If we are to work together then I believe it would be best if we got to know each other better," Nicholas said thoughtfully and I nodded agreeably. "How about it? I ask you a question and you do the same?"

"That sounds reasonable, I don't really know much about you," I shrugged and waited for his first question.

"Why do you want to be a Hunter?" I leaned back against the wall and hummed in thought at the loaded question.

"I have a lot of reasons… but the most prominent is that it's a means to an end for me," I admitted unashamedly, people like Ozpin like to say that the… purpose of a Hunter is to protect the people at the cost of their own lives if necessary, not to further one's goals, but I simply find that shortsighted. What was the point of sacrificing yourself to save a town when if not the next day, then the next year they are overrun anyways? You ultimately achieved nothing, but a brief continuation of the status quo, the world goes on as if nothing changed until a sacrifice is needed again. It always ends like this, a Hunter sacrifices themselves so others could live, then when the time comes another does the same to protect the people and so on in a bloody cycle of self-sacrifice with no end in sight. That was the reality of a Hunter that no one wanted to admit. It pained me to say, but I was part of that cycle too. I became part of it when I tried to sacrifice myself for Yang all those years ago, and if I asked myself 'would I do it again?' the answer would be a resounding 'without hesitation'.

"I want to change the world for the better, being a Hunter just coincides with that." I didn't want Ruby, Yang or anyone else to be part of that cycle of self-sacrifice. Becoming a Hunter to get stronger, Hunting Titans and going after Salem was the way I planned to make this a reality. Without the silent threat of Titans looming over the kingdoms people could rest more easily and without Salem the Grimm would likely become less organized, allowing Hunters to once again turn the tables and reclaim Remnant.

I stared emotionlessly at Nicholas, waiting to be berated for that way of thinking. This kind of thinking was discouraged in schools and academies, subtly of course but the effect was still visible. I wouldn't be surprised if he felt the need to convince me otherwise.

What surprised me was that he basically did the opposite.

"This new generation is an interesting one." He stared at me with a strange glint in his icy blue eyes.

"You're not going to reprimand me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't believe it's necessary, I just want to know how you plan on achieving that hefty goal. Many have tried before, only a few succeeded." The question of 'what makes your case different?' went unsaid.

"I'm ready to do whatever's necessary, no matter the cost." I stared at him with steely silver eyes. Nicholas was silent for a few seconds as he seemed to study my face.

"Very well," he nodded approvingly before taking out a leather bound book from one of the drawers and tossing it to me. I caught it deftly and looked it over. "What's this?"

"You were right when you said that physically speaking I'm well over my prime. I won't be able to teach you flashy moves or other practical fighting skills. Knowledge on the other hand I can provide in spades," he admitted with a slight shake of his head.

"That journal contains everything I've managed to jot down about my findings regarding Dust and its applications." I opened the book and read through a few hand written lines in wonder. "Formulas, guidelines, glyphs and theories I've gathered and formulated over the decades. I want you to read it," he said resolutely and I looked back up at him in shock. Nicholas Schnee, basically the go-to authority on Dust Alchemy, wanted me to read his Magnum Opus?

"W-why? I get that I'm your student, but this probably contains things that are only meant to be seen by your family alone." If this thing was indeed his journal then it would contain everything; the inner workings of the Schnee Semblance as described by the person who created it, Dust refining processes, locations of potentially untapped Dust deposits and the list goes on, the only person I could imagine Nicholas would give this to would be-

"My daughter has made it very clear that she doesn't need it," he glanced outside the window with hard eyes before turning back with a slightly softer expression. "And my grandchildren won't have a use for it for a couple more decades, no you're the one who'd benefit from this the most. Besides, it's a teacher's responsibility to provide all the tools their pupils need to achieve their dreams."

I did my best impression of a fish and gaped at the old man once the words registered in my mind, he wanted me to succeed? Why? Only Summer and Raven knew of my goals and helped me regardless. Why would this old man on death's door take an interest in me?

"Why did you take me as your student? I want to know," I used my turn to ask a question once I collected myself. Nicholas looked at me strangely again and hummed in thought.

"Like I said before, I have many reasons, three to be exact that I don't really want to share with you, at least not yet, but if you're so adamant about it then I can tell you one," he nodded to himself and pointed his cane at me. "You seemed familiar and I recognized that name."

"My name?" I asked perplexedly, how did he know about me? I wasn't exactly famous by any means.

"No, not yours. I once knew a man who had the same name," he waved his hand dismissively.

"The same name… You knew my great-grandfather?" My eyes widened I realization, doing some quick mental calculations proved that they roughly lived at the same time.

"We've met a few times in passing, we frequented the same circle of friends. Your ancestor had a great reputation back in the day, a legend really," he reminisced to himself. "Your hair and eyes somewhat reminded me of him, the name just cemented the connection in my mind. I just thought that even if you're half the Hunter he was, then you'd do great things," he shrugged and left me in silence for a while as I thought over what I've just heard.

"That's not the main reason, is it?" I asked knowingly, I've heard of this kind of reasoning before, it felt as shallow and meaningless as it did back then.

"No, it isn't," Nicholas confirmed with a shake of his head. "Perhaps I'll tell you the second reason later, but you'll have to find out the third reason yourself, if you do then you'd have learned the most important lesson I have to teach you." A comfortable silence descended on us as I digested his words, a reason could be more important than anything in his book? The silence didn't last long as Nicholas spoke up once again.

"But for now you shouldn't concern yourself with that, you're my student and you have more trivial things to learn. I want you to finish that book before our journey ends, read it in your free time and during our lessons. I will also expect you to pay attention to my practical lessons while you advance on your own," he told me gruffly.

"But that would mean I'd have to listen to you, read this book and advance with my own studies during your lessons," I pointed out perplexedly, even spread out it would be a tight timetable.

"You can divide your attention, can't you?" He told me in an unamused tone. "Make no mistake, acquiring a level of Dust mastery worthy of a true Dust Alchemist like myself takes years of effort, but by the time I'm done with you no one will be able to tell the difference." His tone and expression left no room for argument.

* * *

"Nicholas, if you don't mind me asking… Shouldn't you be taking some sort of medicine for whatever illness you have?" I asked tentatively as he finished one of his coughing fits that lasted almost an entire minute. Over the past couple of days, I have not once seen him take any medication.

"It wouldn't change a thing, Caryll," he denied tiredly. "I'm just glad that I'm still able to move around on my own after the life I've led." I guess he was right about that, he had been an active Hunter for over 60 years and led multiple expeditions outside kingdoms while exposed to the elements, many would be envious to achieve that much and still live to see 79.

"Still, wouldn't your Aura at least help? It's supposed to help with regeneration and toxin filtering," I asked worriedly but he shook his head negatively even before I could finish.

"I have lung cancer, not surprising with all the dust and smoke I inhaled while I was down in the mines, but it's quite terminal I'm afraid. I have no idea how much you know about tumors, but I'll tell you that Aura doesn't help in that regard, in fact since Aura hastens regeneration it only makes the tumor kill me that much faster," Nicholas explained in a bitter tone, I just nodded numbly, even with Aura, Dust, Semblances, Magic and technology death still finds us huh?

"Then… how long do you…?" I trailed off uncomfortably.

"More than enough time to train you, do not worry about that," he remarked dismissively. "Now continue with your training, our lesson is not yet over."

I nodded and went back to casting a glyph while looking at the open book beside me. It was silent for a few minutes as I concentrated on the task in front of me and my teacher did whatever he did when I was occupied, he probably daydreamed if I were to guess, not like he could do much else in his condition.

"You said that you were on a mission? To find your mother?" Nicholas asked out of the blue as he observed me constructing a wind glyph in my palm. My focus slipped and the glyph faded away. I sighed and looked up to respond to him, but he beat me to it. "Who said you could stop? Try again until you can morph it like a piece of clay."

"Right, sorry it's just harder than I expected," I sighed and went back to casting the circular glyph. When I showed Nicholas my vambraces and told him I made them when I was five he seemed mildly impressed, but it didn't last long as it only seemed to encourage him to give me more work, because I could apparently handle it. He wasn't wrong per say, seeing as gravity glyph manipulation was basically second nature to me by this point, but it still surprised me how tedious and intricate advanced glyphs could become.

"Glyph making is like art, not everyone has a calling for it and it can become quite complex with multiple layers assigned to even an insignificant piece, but trust me you've been making remarkable progress the past few days for someone without a dedicated Semblance." Glyphs were the combination of careful applications of Aura and Dust that anyone could utilize if trained properly, but there were specific Semblances that allowed easier casting, manipulation and execution. The Schnee Semblance was unique in the way that it allowed the user to cast glyphs with Aura alone that could attract, repulse and summon creatures, adding Dust into the mix only amplified their effects further. It was basically the pinnacle of Dust related Semblances. Unfortunately, unless you were an actual Schnee then you'd have to resort to learning glyphs the hard way.

Glyphs were the second most advanced form of Dust manipulation, right behind Dust weaving, it allowed for advanced techniques that normally couldn't be achieved with simple Aura infusion into Dust. A prime example would be my vambraces, if I were to use basic Dust manipulation they simply wouldn't be feasible, but with Glyphs I could control the attractive forces of every single connected object without effecting the world around them, and that was just Gravity Dust, one could feasibly make moving sculptures with Ice Dust or control a firestorm with Fire Dust.

Dust weaving on the other hand was just as effective, if not even more so as it relied upon glyphs to function, and allowed the user access to techniques of the highest destructive potential; elemental attacks that only harmed the intended target, large scale manipulation of one's surroundings and more. The only problem with it was that it was incredibly dangerous to the user. When I asked Nicholas about it he told me he would teach it to me when he was sure I wouldn't accidentally blow off my one of my limbs. He reasoned that because the Dust would be woven into the clothes people wear, they would rub against the skin, meaning they would be in constant contact with Aura. If one wasn't careful they could accidentally activate whatever Dust they had on themselves and blow themselves sky high.

"But I digress, I was asking about your mission to find your mother. I wanted to ask why you were alone in doing so," he shook his head tiredly.

"I'm not the only one looking for her… I just know that if anyone has a chance of finding her, it's me," I said softly as the glyph spun in my hand, becoming more complex by the minute.

"So you ran away from home?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at me.

"In a way, yes," I answered distractedly.

"Children, never changing no matter the era." He shook his head with a sigh, "assume for a minute that you're wrong, have you thought about that maybe the other people looking for your mother now have to divide their attention between you and her? Hindering their search?" A playful smile tugged at my lips at that, he didn't know who he was talking to.

"Let's just say I have that possibility handled…"

* * *

To say that Qrow was a walking wreck would be an understatement, it has only been a handful of days since they received Summer's message and everything went to hell. Him and Tai basically ran home to check on the kids, only to find the eldest missing, supposedly gone to do his own investigation.

Of course, both him and Tai were skeptical, skilled beyond his years as Caryll was, he wasn't prepared for this kind of mission by a long shot, and that's not even taking into consideration the fact that it would likely take him outside the kingdoms, no he couldn't possibly be ready for his crazy journey.

Or at least that's what he thought at first, now he wasn't so sure.

The kid was… beyond good, Qrow had admit. He left no trails behind that he could follow. His Semblance allowed rapid transportation between far away locations, he left behind no traces of residue Aura, hell they even asked for help from the police and Ozpin. The kid was still like a ghost, not even a single sighting across all four kingdoms.

This search for Summer and Caryll was quickly becoming one of the hardest ones in his entire career.

The chiming of his Scroll alerted him to a video call from the Valean Police Department, he quickly accepted the call and was greeted with the officer in charge of the search for Caryll.

"Mr. Branwen, I believe we have found a lead" The officer declared and showed him a digital map of Remnant with a single red dot blinking lazily in the eastern region of Sanus. Qrow let out a breath of relief, they were finally getting somewhere. Still, he had to ask.

"Thanks, how did you find him?" He asked, legs already moving towards the nearest secluded spot where he could transform.

"We used the CCT network locate his Scroll- wait what's happening?" The officer's face became puzzled as the blinking dot disappeared… then reappeared in southern Solitas…. then another two appeared in northern Anima, and then three in Menagerie…

Qrow stopped listening to the increasingly confused sounding officer and took out the note Caryll left them from his pocket. He looked it over once again and couldn't help but hang his head.

_I'm going after Mom, don't bother searching for me. I won't come home without her._

_Caryll Rose,_

Maybe they should have taken those words to heart sooner, they couldn't find Caryll, apart from a couple of possibly connected accidents at the docks and at Beacon, they simply had no idea where he was.

Qrow put away the note and thought about his next step, maybe it was for the best if they focused their search on Summer? He prayed that when they find her she won't find out about Caryll's stunt and their helplessness over the entire situation.

* * *

"Rule number 1 of a hunt; no matter if you're the hunter or the hunted, always cover your tracks," I stated while observing the nearly complete glyph in my hand. After erasing all traces of our intrusion from the security systems I asked Scarlet to put an extra feature into my Scroll. Namely a macro that randomly assigned my Scroll's ID to other devices across Remnant, making me digitally untraceable, at least until they find the macro during routine maintenance of the network and promptly eliminate it, but by then I would be long rid of my current Scroll.

"Alright, you may have an inkling of an idea of what you're doing," Nicholas conceded with a tilt of his head. "But from what I gather your decision was an impulsive and reckless one. Tell me, do you even have a plan to find her? Or if what you find is not to your liking? After all, by the time you get there it could very well be a week. What makes you think she's even alive right now?" My concentration faded and the glyph collapsed in on itself. I looked at my lap thoughtfully for a few moments before locking eyes with him.

"I have no proof that she's alive, you're right about that, but I just… know she's fine, for now, I can't explain it," I admitted quietly. "As for having a plan… I don't have one." I looked back down at my lap, appearing ashamed.

"Then you-" "-You're right, I don't have a plan. I have five," I cut him off and shot him a steely look, no longer looking like a scolded child.

My gut told me that Summer was still alive, I trusted it, I wanted to trust it. My memory also told me that Salem wanted Ruby alive, for what purpose I have no idea, but the point was that Summer may very well be alive for now if Salem wanted something with our kind.

This allowed me to formulate five plans, well two solutions and five approaches to the problem.

Solution number one was finding out Summer's current location and intercept her, that could be achieved by three different ways. Plan A, find Raven and convince her to take me to Summer, I've tried this before, it didn't work. Plan B, track down Summer by following her Scroll, what I was doing now. Plan C, if Plan B somehow failed and Raven was unavailable then I would have to find Lily and open the Spring Maiden's Vault, after that I would simply have to ask Jinn to tell me where Summer was. I didn't care much about the repercussions this could cause for the future timeline I saw, a world without Summer in it was irrelevant to me.

Solution number two was carried much more risk, but it was almost a surefire way to Summer. Salem's lackeys would undoubtedly bring her to their lair, this meant that I simply had to find Salem. Plan D, infiltrate Haven Academy and threaten Lionheart into cooperating with me. With any luck he is already a spy for Salem and could contact her for me. I didn't fear much resistance from the man, if a fourteen year old farmhand with a useless cane could smack him around then I had nothing to worry about. And finally Plan E, this wasn't much of a plan, I admit that much, but it's a last desperate effort from my part, nothing else. It would require me to go to Pandyssia, the dragon continent, raise as much fuss with the Grimm population and force Salem's hand into showing herself. After all, a Silver Eyed Warrior appearing basically in her front yard would no doubt get her attention and get her to try and capture me if nothing else.

The last two plans required me to confront Salem and her lackeys directly, but that didn't scare me, no if they harmed Summer in any way before I arrived they would be the ones who had to fear for their wellbeing.

"And if I find something that isn't to my liking, well I can get creative…" I said with a vicious smirk. Immortal she may be, Salem isn't invincible, all I need is a single touch and she would be sealed away into Kamui for all eternity. I could trap her there, destroy my eyes afterwards to sever the links between dimensions forever, or even just kill myself if the previous measure didn't prove to be effective. The world would be a better, safer place and I could pass on contently, ironically taking away the last vestiges of what the immortal witch held the closest.

Her precious freedom.

"It looks like you have this all figured out," Nicholas observed with a huff. "You will still fail," he told me without a measure of doubt in his voice, making me snap out of my scheming session and regard him guardedly.

"Why? I would think planning ahead would only increase my chances?"

"It's the curse that people like us bear," he told me before coughing into his hand.

"Like us?" I parroted questioningly before someone suddenly knocked on our door. Nicholas told them to enter and a crewmember stepped into our cabin.

"Sir, if you could come with me there is a matter that requires your immediate attention," the man requested and Nicholas nodded, I helped him get up from his chair and followed after the duo in terse silence.

What was Nicholas talking about? Who's us?

* * *

"What seems to be the problem?" Nicholas inquired when the man led us to the front of the train where a few other crew members were already waiting for us.

"Sir, we've gotten reports from other trains using our current course stating that the heavy snowfall blocked a large section of rails ahead of us," one of the crew members said dutifully. "It wouldn't compromise the security of the train, but it would delay us at least by a few days as we would have to slow down to reduce the chance of an accident happening, not to mention we would have to stop and mount the snow plow to the front of the train so it would clear the way for us." My heart skipped a beat at the mention of a delay that long, I was already too far behind for comfort, a few more days could be fatal to my mission and Summer.

"Is there any other way we could still arrive on time?" I found myself asking, uncaring of the few stares I received in return. Apparently not everybody appreciated the input of a ten year old in a conversation like this.

"…There is a way, in fact we would prefer this way over the original route now that it's blocked." The crew members shared a look between them. "There is an older railway where the weather hasn't been as harsh as our current one. It's technically a roundabout way to Vacuo but if we increase our speed it would allow us to reach our destination on schedule," he told us unsurely.

"So why didn't you change course already if you would all prefer that one?" I asked confusedly.

"Protocol dictates that we must consult the Hunters guarding the train before committing to any course changes," another man supplied helpfully.

"The security of the passengers is our utmost priority," Nicholas confirmed with a nod, right, they needed our opinion on what path would be the safest to take. "Hmm, Caryll what do you think? Which route should we choose?" He asked me yet again with that strange glint in his eyes. Now everyone was either looking at me or at my teacher like he has lost his mind to refer to the judgement of a child.

"… I say we go with the faster route," I spoke up after a moment of thinking. "The longer we spend out in the Grimmlands, the more likely it is that we're going to be attacked by Grimm, especially with all this negativity in the air that's only going to get worse when the passengers hear about the delay. Unless of course there is something about this other route that we should be aware of?" I tried to sound reasonable, but in reality I just wanted to get on with my search without any more delays.

"Well, it hasn't been used for the past decade or two, but it has received the required level of maintenance for a train to safely pass through, nothing noteworthy other than that," a man responded thoughtfully, making Nicholas tap the floor with his cane with a satisfied expression.

"Then it's settled, change course and notify us of any further developments," he declared and turned around to hobble back to our cabin. I made to follow him and fell into step beside him.

"Why did you let me decide?" I asked with a slight frown once we got out of earshot of the crewmembers.

"You're a student learning to become a Hunter, no? Once you finish your studies you'll be expected to make decisions like this every day. The sooner you get used to it, the better," he hummed in response.

* * *

Perry stared lazily outside the window into the stormy night with a cigarette in his hand. It has been a couple of days since their course change and they were only a day's worth of travel away from Vacuo. The snowstorm they experienced in Vale had subsided in the warmer weather and slowly transitioned into a heavy rainfall the further west they travelled. It felt weird to say, but it looked like the old Schnee's apprentice was right about taking the shortcut-

Perry's cigarette fell from his grasp as his body was violently thrown into the wall of the front car. The wheels underneath the train screeched with an ear grating sound as he felt the train making a sharp turn from their planned route. However, everything returned to normal soon after and Perry felt the train steady itself as it went onwards.

"What the hell?" He groaned as he nursed his head, who was the idiot that made a sharp turn at full speed?! They could have been derailed! He got up from the ground and marched to the front where the controls were located. He barged into the room and saw the on shift driver, Larry, standing at the controls and staring at the illuminated tracks before them like he saw a ghost.

"Larry what the hell were you doing? You could have gotten all of us killed!" He yelled furiously.

"I saw a woman on the tracks! She would have died if I hadn't changed tracks!" Larry snapped out of his staring and argued back.

"A woman? In the Grimmlands? Are you sure?" Perry asked doubtfully, what would a woman be doing in the middle of nowhere?

"I swear I saw her, check the front cameras!" Larry confirmed and gestured wildly at the computer. Perry grunted and sat down in front of the machine, if there was indeed a woman out here they would have to notify the Hunters and wait for them to rescue her.

"There, nothing. There had been nothing on the rails before you made the switch" Perry declared and turned the monitor to Larry, who watched the video play out, nothing unordinary happened in the camera's field of view until the train reached an intersection of rails and forcefully switched paths.

"But I-… I swear I saw someone! There was a woman, right there! I'm not making this up!" He desperately pointed at the screen. Perry was about to berate him for staying up so late that he was seeing things when he noticed something about Larry's face.

"Hey man, I think you should do something about your nose. It's bleeding," Larry touched his nose with his hand and stared confusedly at his bloody fingers. He looked back up and looked at Perry wide eyed.

"So is yours…" Perry looked at him weirdly but when he checked it he felt his fingers get wet.

* * *

Something brushed against the edges of its dulled senses and a single, glowing crimson eye opened up slowly as it awakened from its slumber. How long has it been since it last lied down? What was this disturbance that grew in size as it passed closer and closer? This dark hole that drew its attention so much that it would even awaken a creature like itself from its dream? It couldn't be kin, with all its darkness it still wasn't dark enough to be one. Ah, it could only be one thing then…

Prey.

Feeling its body slowly regain its past strength the creature extended its senses and sought out the large group of prey trapped in their metallic prison. They were far away, yet their path was so predictable. It witnessed prey build their metallic contraptions many years ago and recalled their weaknesses with ease.

The creature observed the lesser minds of its prey, prodding at them one by one until it found the one it was looking for. Satisfied with the find, it subtly attacked the prey's feeble mind and overwhelmed its defenses in a single moment. After that it only needed to alter its mind at the right time for the entire herd of prey to approach it directly.

It could feel its lesser kin slowly awakening from their short slumber as they no doubt sensed the prey nearby, connecting its mind to theirs and sending a single prompt to attack was all they needed to scurry away and start their hunt. The creature felt ready to return to its long dream, it closed its eye, content to let its kin carry out its will when it sensed something that filled its mind with rage.

A prey, no, a fellow hunter with the cursed gift of the gods. It growled menacingly and discarded its rocky shackles that kept its limbs in place for so long. They crumbled into pieces and the debris crushed large swathes of forest beneath it. It took a step outside to the real world and let out a bellowing roar, the hunter with its eyes-… another one? Not one, but two hunters with the gift from the Gods themselves? How dare they disturb its dreams? The eye reopened and its mind sought out a prey to influence, then another couple opened to influence a couple more, then a dozen and then a hundred and so on until finally a thousand eyes gazed in the direction of its approaching prey with unbridled killing intent.

It had rested for long, but tonight this Titan would join the hunt against hunters.

* * *

_There we have it, a bit of slower chapter than the previous few but I felt a few things needed to be addressed after the last two chapters, plus it allowed me to put a little cameo in with Blake and the White Fang, who will be playing a role in the next chapter._

_For an actual example of what Caryll meant when he explained Glyphs and Dust weaving and their effects, just watch the fight between Cinder and Glynda and you'll get the general idea._

_A train that tries to arrive on time? Plain bad writing on my part, a completely unrealistic and childish fantasy._

_And if it wasn't obvious, the whole attack on the train is not canon. Blake obviously wasn't in an attack involving a Titan when she was six. The train choosing the path it took is entirely Caryll's fault for being reckless and wanting to get to Vacuo as fast as possible, thus causing a not so little butterfly effect._

_First Titan fight incoming, buckle up people._

_**Omake:**_

* * *

_**Modern problems require modern solutions**_

"_Hey everyone, I'm back!" Summer heard his son's voice coming from the front door all the way from the kitchen where she and the rest of the family was currently having lunch, even Qrow was there as they were celebrating Yang's and Ruby's acceptance into Beacon. Everyone stopped what they were doing and processed what they heard, Caryll left Patch the moment he turned eighteen and has been away for the last three years on 'A secret mission that would take him all around Remnant'. They only heard from him sporadically and they had no idea he was even in the area. A moment later red rose petals filled the place where Ruby had been sitting before and likewise Yang had gotten up and sprinted to the door so fast that her chair broke under the sudden force. The adults shared a chuckle and got up to greet their wayward family member._

"_Hey- Umph!" "You're back!" Two living missiles nearly tackled Caryll, who stumbled backwards before hugging the girls back._

"_Of course I'm back, wouldn't miss your big day for anything," he told them with a beaming smile._

"_Hey short-stack, you've gotten taller." Qrow greeted as the siblings released each other from the group hug._

"_Yeah, I think it was the Valean air that stumped my growth, honestly," Caryll said jokingly as Summer walked up to him and enveloped him in a hug which was reciprocated instantly._

"_Oh, oh, can you talk about your mission? How awesome was it?" Ruby asked excitedly, Caryll was secretive about what he was doing, which wasn't that surprising really, he said that he was working with Ozpin on it._

"_I actually can, now that I'm done with it. Come on, I'll tell you while we're eating, I'm starving," he declared and they moved back to the kitchen where they got seated and dug in to the food she made. It didn't take much prodding for Caryll to start talking._

"_Alright, so you know how our kind is almost extinct?" Caryll asked and Summer nodded solemnly, while Ruby remained silent, she hasn't gotten around to awakening her eyes yet, but she knew of her gift. "My mission was to change that, to resurrect the legacy of the Silver Eyed bloodline." Yang and Ruby looked a bit confused, but the adults had an ominous feeling wash over them._

"_You mean you found long lost cousins, right?" Summer asked with narrowed eyes, while Qrow was reaching for his flask, fearing the worst. Caryll broke out in a full on grin and reached inside his pocket while talking animatedly._

"_Oh no, besides coming home for the girls' departure I also came home to inform you that our family has gotten bigger!" He declared jovially and placed four pictures of different babies on the table._

_Qrow did a spit-take, his worst fears confirmed._

_Taiyang was looking in her direction with an increasingly paler face._

_Yang and Ruby had stars in their eyes as they stared at the pictures._

_She could also faintly make out a raven falling off of a branch just outside the window, and cawing loudly as it hit the ground._

_And Summer? Well…_

_She stared blankly at the pictures, her brain the perfect imitation of a blue-screen on a computer. She finally swallowed the lump in her throat after a minute or so of silence and was prepared to kill her son and bury his body for making her a grandmother this soon (She was only 45! She was too young!) when her mind noticed something interesting._

_She did some quick mental calculations and came to a dangerous conclusion, dangerous for Caryll of course._

"_Caryll, sweetie. Please tell me that you didn't enter a polygamous relationship with four women?" Her deceptively sweet voice did nothing to hide the death threat that was implied. for babies in three years? While it was just possible in theory, it was nigh impossible to pull off realistically, the babies he showed them were all different in age, between newborn and three years old, so they couldn't have been twins either._

"_Oh, like those harems in old Mistralian culture? Pfft, nothing so archaic and inefficient I assure you," he puffed his chest proudly. "Judging from me and Ruby it seems like the genes for Silver Eyes are dominant when passed down… so I travelled around the world and I became a donor in every larger settlement!" He leaned over the table and pushed the four pictures forward… revealing dozens underneath them and covering the entire table with pictures of different babies, all of them had Silver Eyes. "Turns out Hunter donors are really popular! Over three years I've helped- uhh, 43 sets of couples! See this is Azure, that's Iris, oh that's Bianca-" His Scroll chimed and he hurried to take it out. "44! Mom, say hi to Adrian Cotta-Arc…" Caryll showed her the image he just received of a newborn with another set of Silver Eyes, but his voice slowly faded into the background as she felt herself drifting into shock. Her eyes slowly looked around the table and took in the reactions of the rest of her family._

_Qrow was already moving to the cabinet containing the stronger liquors they had at their disposal, though she didn't know whether he wanted to celebrate, or drink himself under the table and forget all this happened, in which case she felt inclined to join him._

_Tai seemed to have… proud tears in his eyes? What? And why was he mouthing the words 'Entire. World'?_

_Yang and Ruby were meanwhile grilling their brother about visitation rights and whether if he had actual little Roses in his care, while bickering about who would be the better aunt._

_She felt her brain slowly shutting down, no longer able to comprehend what was going on, hell, she hallucinated a raven breaking into the kitchen through the window and trying to peck Caryll's eyes out while aggressively cawing and sending feathers all over the kitchen. With that absurd image she let darkness save her from this horrifying reality-_

_Summer shot up in her bed while breathing heavily. Tai was sound asleep beside her and a panicked glance at her Scroll told her it was around 5 AM._

"_It was just a nightmare, it was just a nightmare," she repeated like a mantra for several seconds while trying to purge her mind of that horrifying dream. Suddenly she got up from her bed and ran to Caryll's room where she threw the door open, startling the younger Rose awake and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt._

"_No sex until marriage! No marriage until you're 30! No donor program! No other genius means of resurrecting the bloodline! I'm too young to become a grandmother you hear me!?" She ranted and shook her panicking ten year old son like a woman possessed. She paused for a moment with a thoughtful expression before returning to shaking Caryll like a ragdoll. "And if you ever have a daughter name her Willow or Rowan! Honestly who would name their child Bianca…!?"_

* * *

_Apologies to anyone named Bianca reading this, I was just lazy and didn't want to figure out a color based girl name on my own just for an Omake. Also low-key implying that the only reason Caryll didn't get a harem for himself is because he thinks it would be too inefficient, the absolute mad lad._

_**Reviews:**_

_Lord-Azrael3: Technically, all Huntsmen/Huntresses are just glorified mercenaries if you think about it. They earn a living by fighting, they choose their own missions and technically don't have to answer to anyone. He will meet the Schnee siblings and I have scenes in mind with them, but not in that way I'm afraid._

_Blaze2121: I'll be sure to make an Omake like that, but I have a backlog of them right now and I don't really want to flood chapters with just Omakes, so I would give it… three-four chapters until I can write one like that, I think?_

_Raidenthensho: Like I said earlier, Caryll will unlock both eyes and their techniques (sans Susano'o) in time. Weapon-wise, you're thinking too Japanese. While yeah, Caryll is basically an anime protagonist, but that doesn't mean he's going full Japanese style, western weapons have their own appeal too._

_There will be a time skip between Act 2 and 3, I don't have every little detail planned out that far ahead, but I can maybe go with a route where Caryll goes to seek out (with minimal effort mind you, his attention will be on bigger things) a few side characters like Jaune and help them in some way. Not out of charity or anything like that, I don't see him caring for them that much, it would be more of a "You're going to be friends with my sisters and I can't have a pathetic excuse of a Hunter watching their backs" sort of deal (Disclaimer: I have nothing against Jaune, I'm low-key Lancaster trash, but he wasn't much of a fighter until Vol 3-4). But yeah, if I go with that route then he won't be alone with this treatment, others will receive the same treatment as well (Insert training montage of Madara training Obito)._

_Guest(RwbyFan): He will upgrade almost everything in his arsenal once he reaches Vacuo, otherwise he would struggle with future engagements. Caryll studied network and mechanical engineering. He got a degree in the latter in all but name, but not in the former, plus like he said, a lot of that knowledge was forgotten over an entire decade. He remembered enough info to make a plan revolving around tracking down Summer's Scroll (Device tracking is done by police for example and the whole network tower thing you learn early in university, so it's pretty basic knowledge in the field). Other than that, there is no guarantee that Earth and Remnant networks are entirely the same, yeah the fundamentals are probably the same but there isn't guaranteed that the advanced stuff is similar. Could Caryll still figure it out on his own? I have no doubt about it, but remember that time is of the essence for him now. He knew Scarlet could do it and so went with the fastest option available to him._

_dragonfigher11: The vision impairment constantly worsens during Kamui use until Caryll gets completely blind, however he can work around this by using his "Aura sight" until his Aura regenerates the damage done to his eyes._

_Guest: He was probably one of those players that get killed by the werewolf in Iosefka's clinic and immediately drop the game after, lol (Not me though, I've beat all bosses except the Orphan of Kos, that placenta swinging banshee haunts me in my dreams *shivers*)_

_Guests/other well-wishers: Thanks guys!_

_Until next time!_


	14. Chapter 14

_Readers: Hey, there hasn't been an update in a while, is the story still going?  
TRP: Sure, just technical problems. Give me a week and we'll be back on track.  
Readers: Oh okay.  
*3 months later*  
TRP:…  
Readers: So that was a fucking lie.  
TRP:…Uhh Merry Christmas?_

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the long awaited fourteenth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. A lot of things have happened since last time and I don't want to stretch this AN out for too long so here it goes._

_Hiatus: I'm really sorry for it, but I can safely say that the fall of 2019 was maybe the shittiest part of my entire life so far. Again, I won't be going into detail with it, but rest assured I'm hoping to leave it behind me._

_HDD: Files weren't recoverable, not even with specialized tools._

_1k followers: I love you guys! From previous ANs you might remember that I didn't expect to have reached 500, let alone 1000. So yeah, you guys are awesome._

_Poll: Poll has ended with interesting results and I'll plan the story accordingly._

_Volume 7: Looking amazing so far. Lmao, some people called me an idiot for making Summer go AWOL and then it turns out she did the same in canon too lol. Also props for my man Ironwood for trying to restore internet access worldwide, 10/10 would declare martial law again, best benevolent dictator ever._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 14: Cognatas**

"You know, you don't have to follow me around all the time." Like a puppy-, or I guess a house cat, I added in my mind. I absentmindedly opened and walked through the door separating two cars and flipped a page in Nicholas' journal. I was currently on a chapter discussing the effects of weather on different forms of Dust.

"But I'm bored," Blake replied tiredly from behind me. She closed the door with some difficulty and followed after me. For some unknown reason to me, she decided to follow me around from time to time during our trip, pestering me with questions about all manner of things. Maybe it was because I was one of the few friendly humans on board that gave her the time of day, but I really didn't know.

"Your flyers got thrown out the window again and now you 'can't spread the word'?" I asked rhetorically without looking up from my assigned reading material. I swear to the Gods, I had trouble deciding who was the bigger slave driver between Raven and Nicholas. The only notable difference between the two was that Raven would physically push you until you collapsed and then a bit more just for good measure, while Nicholas would do so mentally.

Blake nodded wordlessly with an annoyed pout. I've got to give it to her, she was as stubborn as me, if not more, I would have probably given up and tried a new approach by the… fifth time it happened.

"Mhm, remind me to ask for a random contraband check before we enter the borderlands." As much as I wanted to, I couldn't kick their asses. Hunters aren't supposed to do that, or something, but that didn't mean I couldn't make their journey just that more annoying by a very… thorough search of their cabins.

Changing the world, one very small bureaucratic step at a time.

"Are you trying again tomorrow? We're bound to reach Vacuo by dinner." I wouldn't be surprised, honestly. Even as a little kid Blake had a chip on her shoulder about Faunus equality. It was like it was her personal mission to-…

Blake and I were alike in that regard, weren't we? Both of us had a grandiose dream of a world we wanted to create. The only real difference between us was that I had head start of a decade over her. I subtly glanced at my small companion with a thinking expression and a strange feeling in the back of my mind.

"…I ran out of paper," she admitted shyly with a quick shake of her head. I chuckled to myself and looked out the windows on the side of the long corridor. This was to be our last day in the Grimmlands, which meant that the vegetation you'd expect in Vacuo, namely the desert, simply wasn't there yet. Instead the tracks lead us through mountainous woodlands that were supposedly almost as dry as the journal in my hands, normally that is, right now it was pouring outside.

"Tell you what, you can come with me to get some food together, but after that you have to go back to your parents and I'll continue on with my training," I proposed with a half-shrug and put away my book into my bag. I was a bit hungry anyways and I didn't mind her company, so it wasn't a bother. She nodded enthusiastically and we made our way to the buffet car.

"Training? What are you training for?" Blake asked with a tilt of her head.

"I'm a Hunter, well an Apprentice anyways. Right now my teacher wants me to learn how to use Dust like him," I explained and sat down at one of the many empty tables with Blake following suit and sitting beside me. "I'll have to create a magic circle while stuck upside down on the ceiling by another magic circle, that I have to maintain manually because if I don't I'll fall down into a third magic circle and get zapped," I whined and lowered my head against the table. The old Schnee's accelerated training regime was brutal and painful, with very little time left to myself, but I guess that's what makes it "accelerated".

"If you don't like it, then why are you doing it?" The small Faunus asked confusedly.

"If you don't like getting your flyers thrown out and getting yelled at, then why do you keep trying?" I reasoned with a sigh and lifted my head up to look at her. "…I've made a promise a long time ago that I want to keep, no matter what. I hate the training, but if it helps me achieve that, then I'd gladly practice glyph casting and get zapped again and again as many times as needed," I shrugged in explanation and picked up a menu.

Blake hummed childishly in response and was about to say something when a metallic groaning sound resonated from the front of the train. That was all the warning we got before the car beneath our feet lurched to the side with overwhelming force. One part of the car got lifted into the air and we were thrown from our seats and onto the hard floor.

Thankfully that minute warning was enough for me to take hold of Blake and take out an Inferno knife from my bag. I stabbed the knife into the floor, the Gravity Dust activated in it and a black glyph anchored us to place between all the shifting furniture.

The metallic wheels screeched in protest of the sharp turn the train took, but they did manage to hold on until the car could correct itself and fall back onto the tracks, though the impact did manage to collectively break all windows in the room. Winds howled through the train and the rain soaked the floor around us.

"Are you alright?" I asked Blake once it was clear nothing would happen again. I received a weak nod in response and I let go of her to stand up. I had Aura thankfully, so I wasn't injured in any way, the same couldn't be said for nearly every other passenger. There would be wounds all around from the broken glass littering the floor and likely more than a couple of people suffering from concussions.

"What happened?" Blake asked quietly with a faint trail of blood flowing from her nose. I frowned, moving to check up on her when an animalistic howl cut through the sounds of the storm. I rushed to the broken windows and leaned out to see dozens upon dozens of glowing red eyes trying to keep pace with the train. I scowled and leaned back in while taking out my Scroll.

"We're under attack. Can you get back to your parents?" I asked seriously while turning on the various defenses the train had at its disposal. Large metal plates slid over the destroyed windows and clicked into place, protecting the weak points of the train from being broken through.

"I-I think so," she nodded hesitantly as she watched me work. I nodded in response and took out four Inferno knives from my bag. I hated to leave her alone at a time like this, especially because she was hurt, but I wasn't a doctor and stopping the attack took priority.

"Good, I'll be back soon." I jumped upwards and through the ceiling. I twisted midair and threw the four knives in my hand at the train's roof. They sunk into the metal and the Gravity Dust activated in them, creating four rotating violet glyphs. My armguards lit up and pulled me onto the roof where the glyphs took hold of my feet, keeping me steady in spite of the wicked headwind and the slippery ground.

I activated the turrets as well with one hand while pulling up my scarf to cover my face with the other. The turrets deployed without trouble and turned sideways to pelt the forest with automatic fire. From what I could discern with my glowing eyes, which wasn't much since I could only see black blobs, a very large pack of Beowolves was trying to run alongside us, there was maybe a hundred of them, all things considered. What confused me however was that they weren't doing anything else, just keeping up with us while the turrets scored lucky hits on them from time to time.

This wasn't normal, not for Grimm.

Unless there was an Alpha or something else telling them not to attack, Grimm would always charge in with reckless abandon. I didn't see any glaringly bigger blobs so that couldn't be the case either. Nicholas might know more, simply because the old reindeer had more experience, but I didn't want to wait for him to show up. The sooner the attack ended the smaller the chance of us attracting even more Grimm.

With that in mind I took hold of numerous knives in preparation-

A piercing headache appeared suddenly in my temples, it was so painful that I was forced to let go of my knives and collapse onto the roof like a puppet without strings. A strange pressure spread over my head, numbing my limbs and body, and from the corner of my eyes I could see the gravity glyphs deactivating one by one. Without anything to anchor me down my body slowly slid towards the edge before falling off the speeding train like a sack of potatoes.

I hit the muddy ground spinning, momentum forcing me forwards and away from the train and the tracks. I rolled onwards like a ragdoll down the hillside until I reached the bottom of an overflowing creek. Thankfully I landed face upwards and the rushing water wasn't high enough to make me drown, but I still couldn't force my body to move.

What the hell is going on?!

I watched with wide eyes as the train continued on its way, leaving me behind in the middle of the wilderness. The pressure in my head didn't let up, in fact it was getting even worse. My head swam in pain as I forced myself not to throw up in my mouth, in my position I would most likely choke on it and die. Despite all the pain and confusion, one thing was clear to me.

Zwei!

I had to get out of this ditch before the overflow from the rain drowned me. I couldn't move, but if I'm lucky whatever this… attack was didn't affect normal animals like Zwei.

Zwei!

I heard a wet thump from beside me and from the corner of my eyes I could see a dark silhouette standing in the mud. I narrowed my eyes and observed it until a flash of lightning illuminated the mysterious figure.

It was a Beowolf.

This was bad…

It clearly knew of my presence, but strangely it didn't pounce on me in my helpless state, instead it just stared at me like I was an anomaly. A few moments of tense silence later the Grimm made retching sounds that reminded me of a house cat. It vomited out a small dog sized black shape onto the wet ground and shook its head in a disoriented manner.

To my continued surprise the Beowolf decided to leave me alone and walked off into the night, leaving me alone with the strange black mass. Speaking of which…

It looked to be some sort of bug, a cross between a scorpion and a spider. It had a slimy appearance, eight curled up legs, a long tail with a stinger attached to its end resting on the ground, a long slit running from just above the front mandibles to the base of its tail that was surrounded by red eyes looking in all directions.

It was also very clearly a Grimm.

As if reading my thoughts, the strange Grimm bug turned to me and skittered in my direction like an excited puppy that was offered a free meal. I attempted to build up pressure behind my eyes in an effort to vaporize it, but all it achieved was worsening my already terrible headache and nausea, causing me to throw up a bit in my mouth before I could reign myself in.

Zwei!

I frantically looked around, searching for a Kamui portal that would open and deposit Zwei any second. The Grimm of course didn't wait for that to happen and I heard a wet splashing sound from beside me. My eyes darted to where the Grimm was previously, only for my arm to explode in pain.

My breathing hitched and I winced in protest but I managed to look down at my arm. The Grimm bug latched onto my arm and wrapped itself around it like a constrictor snake. It's mandibles bit through my cloak's fabrics and pierced my skin, drawing blood- wait what?!

It bit through my Aura!?

It wasn't done with that and I felt my Aura flow involuntarily from the rest of my body towards the Grimm and get sucked into the creature. I watched in disbelief as the slit opened up on its back to reveal the slimy back of an identical bug. It didn't take long for the second bug to crawl out of the first one's back and flop to the ground. It then stood on its many legs and launched itself at my leg. It wrapped itself around it and I winced in pain as it bit into my thigh, draining even more of my Aura. Now both bugs' slits were open and continued giving birth to more of their kind, I already heard the wet plopping sounds of a third and fourth bug's birth.

They were using me as freaking breeding ground!

Zwei, for goodness' sake come and get me out of here!

On cue the familiar visage of a Kamui vortex appeared before me and deposited the black and grey corgi. It barked and growled angrily at the bugs swarming me but all it took was me giving a mental command to Zwei for him to transport us and our uninvited guests to the Kamui dimension.

I landed with a dull thud on the rocky surface of the dimension, but I didn't give it much thought as I could feel the pressure in my head disappear immediately. Whatever was affecting me in the real world, couldn't do anything while I was in a separate dimension. With a satisfied smirk I built up pressure behind my eyes for a moment before releasing it and basking the dimly lit dimension in blinding white light.

…

The effect was instantaneous, I blinked away the brightness and propped myself onto my elbows as the Grimm ash hovered in the air around me. I let out a sigh of relief and petted Zwei, who was whining concernedly beside me. This was too close for comfort, the bugs somehow managed to pierce through my Aura and drain it, that was almost unheard of, or at least I have never heard of a Grimm that could do something like that. I flexed my injured limbs and noted with a small smile that at least the bitemarks were healing well enough now that my Aura wasn't being siphoned off.

I got to my feet with a slight wince and Zwei jumped on my shoulder. He then bit down on my arm and I could feel my reserves filling back up from the Aura Zwei decided to transfer back to me. It was something we figured out during our journey, Zwei's ability to act as an Aura piggy bank, that is. It came in handy in situations where I needed large amounts of Aura at a moment's notice.

"Let's go buddy, we have a train to catch up to," I declared once I felt the transfer end and my Aura settle. The train was still under attack and we had to protect it.

* * *

It took about ten minutes for us to reach the train, and that was only because it had stopped on its own, otherwise we would have never caught up to a speeding bullet train on foot. Fortunately, whatever was messing with my head previously was nowhere to be seen, or felt for that matter. The storm has also receded back to a slight drizzle by this time, making this night a bit more bearable, now only if my clothes weren't drenched and I wasn't covered in mud.

My internal musings were cut short by shrill roars intermixed with gunfire coming from the forward sections of the train. I tensed immediately in response and drew a Lightning knife in preparation, the gunfire sounded like the turrets placed on top of the trains, but I couldn't recognize the roars. I sent a quick command to Zwei, telling him to retreat back into Kamui, and ran towards the sounds of fighting. Zwei obeyed without hesitation and I took off, Zwei may have been capable with my Semblance, but I didn't want to endanger him with direct combat yet, not until he was older at least.

Aura powered steps carried me alongside countless damaged cars and foliage, trains on Remnant were larger than the ones on Earth in every sense of the word. In length they reminded me of those mega trains that carried raw ore in hundreds of cars from mines to smelters. Battered armor plates covered the windows and doors, but whatever attacked the train circumvented them by somehow tearing off entire sections of the walls like they were made out of cardboard. The turrets I've come across suffered a similar fate; the only things that remained in their place were gaping holes and sparking electronics.

It didn't take long to find the culprits.

A harpoon of bone and black flesh flew through my chest from behind and impacted the muddy ground before me. The rapid fluttering of wings only cemented my guess as to what kind of Grimm attacked us. I stopped and turned around to face the group of Lancers that tried to ambush me, the sound of their buzzing masked by the light rain and howling winds. They hovered high above the ground and clicked their mandibles angrily at me.

Before I could retaliate the unfamiliar roaring returned and an ethereal creature of pure white tackled a Lancer out of the air and into a tree, where it silenced the overgrown bug by stabbing its stinger into the Lancer's neck, killing it instantly.

Using the momentary distraction and the fact that they were grouped up relatively closely, I reached into my pouch with both hands and tossed up eight Inferno knives before my face. They activated at the same time but their combined explosion was instantly captured and directed into a single direction by the outbound Kamui portal originating from my right eye.

The whirlwind of flames spiraled in the direction of the swarm, encompassing a larger and larger area until it swallowed the flying insect Grimm. A few moments later the torrent of flames cut off and the only things remaining in its wake were floating cinders and ash.

I lowered my guard, but still somewhat cautious, looked around with glowing eyes. I doubted that this was the only group remining from the wave. What I saw made me pause in confusion; apart from a few people in the front of the train, I didn't see any passengers anywhere. I didn't see any blood puddles or corpses so the Grimm couldn't have killed everyone. This, coupled with several groups of white and black blobs fighting above in the sky only served to fuel my growing confusion.

I heard the roaring sound again from the tree where the first Lancer died and a white Manticore jumped out of it. It landed in front of me, kicking up mud and covering my clothes with it, much to my joy. It looked at me attentively, as if it was trying to look for injuries, in response I cracked a small smile and petted the summon's head distractedly. That at least answered the white and black blobs. Even if he could only hobble around with his cane in his old age, Nicholas' summons were still of a higher quality than simple Grimm.

My eyes widened as I picked up a huge black blob coming in our direction, probably the Alpha that was in charge of the attack. That could explain the strange behavior. I shoved away my troubled thoughts for later and stepped away from the Manticore in preparation for the upcoming confrontation. Whatever was heading this way seemed to care little for the vegetation, seeing as dozens of trees got flattened below it as it passed overhead.

I didn't need to wait for long as it presented itself by flying over me and landing on a damaged train car behind me. The roof of the car crumpled like cardboard underneath its weight and the undercarriage broke in two, ruining the car beyond recognition. The ground shook and a gust of wind produced from the landing forced me to take an involuntary step backwards.

The full-grown Wyvern extended its wings, which could give a Giant Nevermore's a run for their money, and roared challengingly.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, it was a good bit smaller than the one at Mountain Glenn, but it was still far bigger than the one I fought years ago. Just remembering that one's intelligence made me want to groan, that one was a newborn, a baby, this one was an adult, meaning that it would most likely prove to be far more of a challenge.

The Manticore summon growled beside me and threw itself at the dragon Grimm… with not that surprising results. I winced at the crunching sounds of the summon being chewed up by the Wyvern, it was surprisingly fast and was able to snatch the summon out of the air, like it was only an annoying fly.

Still, a lot has changed in three years. I've gotten a lot better and I even managed to unlock my Semblance. I nodded to myself, yes, if I went all out from the beginning and played it smart, I needn't worry about winning this fight, actually if I managed to beat it the other Grimm might retreat as their leader was no longer there to coordinate them. Eight Inferno knives found their way into my hands and I charged forwards while thinking about a strategy to win this encounter.

If I were to cripple its wings, I could ground it and limit its-

The ground beneath my feet began glowing with bright white light, catching both my and the Wyvern's attention. The light separated into lines which then coalesced into a slowly rotating pattern that seemed eerily familiar…

This was a Schnee summoning circle, I stopped in my tracks and regarded the white runes with confusion, the patterns were too big for them to be for a glyph, unless... I looked around and saw that the summoning glyph extended in all directions around us and that it illuminated the entire area with a subtle white glow. I turned back to the ground and searched for the symbol that represented the nature of the summoned creature. It only took me a moment to find it, the normally palm sized symbol was now big enough for me to lie down in it…

It was the picture of a longsword.

Before I could even begin to think of the implications the Wyvern cried out in pain, causing me to snap my head back towards it-

"Woah…" I mumbled in awe at the gigantic pure white longsword that was planted in the chest of the dragon Grimm, locking the creature in place. My gaze wandered along the length of the blade until I set sight upon the wielder in the middle of the summoning glyph, I wouldn't be surprised if my jaw was hanging loose at this point, I was too impressed with what was before me to notice it anyway.

Holding the longsword in its outstretched right arm was the ethereal figure of a cloaked medieval knight, or rather half of a knight as it only had its upper body summoned from the circle, however this didn't seem to be hindering it in the slightest, its size was comparable to the Wyvern's and it towered above everything else like a monolith of light. In its left hand was a circular shield that covered most of its torso, though I could still make out armor plates partially covered by its long cloak. Most of its head was covered by a hood and a helmet, the only hint of its true face were the pair of glowing blue eyes.

Right next to the giant summoning circle and beside the armored giant stood Nicholas with his cane planted into the ground before him, his posture and expression rigid and confident.

I shook myself out of my shock and tried to make sense of it all. How could Nicholas summon that?! I don't care how powerful the Schnee Semblance is, that thing would require more Aura to create and maintain than I had ever seen in my entire life! And this is when he's on death's door! What was he like when he was younger-…?

The explanation hit me as soon as I finished my question. I activated my eyes and observed Nicholas, Aura was purely spiritual, one's Aura pool never stops growing regardless of physical condition. It increases with interest until the day of one's death, meaning that even though physically speaking Nicholas is decades past his prime, spiritually he is the strongest he's ever been. A quick look with my eyes confirmed this, the amount of Aura he was emitting right now to keep up that knight dwarfed every other source of Aura I've seen in my life, I was even forced to deactivate my eyes from its brightness, it felt like I was looking straight into the sun.

Comparing my or Summer's reserves to his would be like comparing a pebble to a boulder.

Somehow his earlier statement of him being able to beat the snot out of me seems a bit more well founded…

The Wyvern, seemingly unperturbed or just too frenzied to care about the giant blade stuck in its chest, opened its maw and roared defiantly at the white knight, flames already gathering in its chest and throat to retaliate.

"Bothersome pest" I heard Nicholas grumble. He tapped his cane against the ground and a previously hidden mechanism in it activated, metal plates slid aside to reveal an inner cylinder packed full of differently colored Dust crystals. The cylinder rotated and stopped on a Water Dust crystal that began glowing. The longsword of the summoned knight glowed with a light blue hue and water rushed down on its surface like small veins. Once they reached the tip and the Wyvern was ready to cover the entire area with flames, the knight ripped out its longsword by slicing upwards, bisecting the Grimm from the chest upwards, but not before the summoned water mixed with the fire still inside the Grimm, resulting in an explosion of steam that tore apart its head and mangled its wings beyond recognition.

The Wyvern's corpse stood motionlessly for a moment before toppling over and falling forwards, it impacted the ground beside us, causing a large tremor, and began to slowly disintegrate. The knight remained with its blade raised skywards for a moment before it faded away as well, leaving behind a silent and empty battlefield.

"Are you alright?" Nicholas inquired as he walked over to me. I gave a hesitant nod in response, still trying to come to terms with what happened in the last couple of minutes. We got attacked, separated and mysteries were piling up one after the other. The only thing I managed to do was sort of clean up after the wave and even then, it was Nicholas who effortlessly took down what was probably the biggest threat in a hundred miles area…

"I'm fine," I vocalized tiredly as I put away my knives. "At least this mess has been sorted out." I looked over the ruined train, I saw less and less Grimm in the area, courtesy of Nicholas' summons, and even the drizzle has stopped finally. We would only need to detach the back half of the train, topple it over and off the rails to remove the blockage and then finally address the elephant in the room.

"Not quite," Nicholas denied with a shake of his head. "We've yet to figure out how the attack happened in the first place. Besides the Wyvern I've only seen Lancers and Beowolves, and they can hardly attack the mind like that." There it was, the mystery attack.

"Speaking of… what happened exactly? I got separated from the train in all the commotion," I turned to my old mentor with a puzzled expression.

"Not long after the attack began, all passengers froze up in place as if they were statues, blood dripped from their orifices and their pupils dilated. However the crew moved around like poorly guided marionettes," he shook his head with a somber expression. "For whatever reason they stopped the train and then the Grimm came out of the woods… as you can see the defenses didn't offer much resistance." His gaze wandered over the to the ruined cars for emphasis. I frowned thoughtfully, this still made no sense, Grimm were messy eaters and yet there was no visible evidence left behind.

"After some time, whatever caused people to freeze up just stopped, it was fortunate that I was released when I was. I could help a few, even if it was already too late for a lot of other people," Nicholas recounted with a thoughtful expression. That was another thing bugging me as well, why did that attack stop after I returned to Remnant? It could have very well gone on and there would have been nothing we could do about it. With everybody disabled the Grimm could have walked in and butcher everyone like cattle, it just didn't make sense for it to stop in the middle of a wave… My eyes wandered absentmindedly over the battlefield, but stopped when I noticed a slight disturbance near the disintegrating corpse of the Wyvern a few meters away from us. I blinked and activated my eyes to see what it was.

"That critter again…" I muttered under my breath as my eyes picked up the shape of another one of those bugs earlier. It burrowed itself into the ground and was tunneling around like some mole.

"What?" Nicholas hummed beside me.

"There is a weird Grimm bug moving around underground that came from the Wyvern," I explained as I observed the creature. "I actually saw another one with a Beowolf not long ago, but I've never heard of or seen anything like it." Nicholas' eyes widened at that, suddenly on alert he turned to me with a steely look.

"Describe it to me," he ordered and I obeyed hesitantly, not really getting why this was so important, sure the bug bit through my Aura and used me as a breeding ground, but it wouldn't cause that much trouble now that I was mobile, hell even Zwei could kill one on his own.

"Uhm, it's around the size of a dog with eight legs, a long tail and a stinger," I explained awkwardly. Silence reigned for a few moments and when I realized that no answer would come from Nicholas, I turned to him questioningly, only to see another one of those bugs burrow out of the Wyvern's corpse, poised to strike.

It couldn't hurt me now, but I wasn't worried about myself.

"Nicholas! Watch out!" I yelled in warning, but I was too late, again. Before either of us could react, the creature lunged at Nicholas with a speed that rivaled Summer's and my own and latched onto his left arm.

"Argh!" It stung him in the arm with its stinger and wrapped itself around the limb. I was already reaching for a knife to kill it when Nicholas stopped me with a raised hand, expression surprisingly calm.

"So, they are the masterminds behind this. I never would have guessed," he noted with a wince as the bug bit into his arm and drew blood.

"What are you doing?! We have to get that thing off and kill it before it replicates itself!" I just stood slack-jawed at the older man's unperturbed behavior.

"Hmm, your half right," he allowed with a nod. He pressed a snowflake shaped button on top of his cane and a mechanical click could be heard. Nicholas then grabbed the spherical handle and lifted it upwards, revealing a long sword with a segmented blade that was hidden inside the cane. A Fire Glyph formed along the sword and covered the blade in flames before he held out his left arm with the Grimm bug latched onto it.

"What are you-?" I trailed off with a shocked expression as Nicholas swung his sword upwards and cut off his own arm just below the shoulder. The severed limb fell to the muddy ground, despite this no blood was spilled as the wound was instantly cauterized. He kicked away the arm in the direction of the giant Grimm's corpse with the bug still on it, a moment later the Dust woven into the clothing lit up and exploded with the force of a grenade, destroying the insect-like Grimm and a sizeable chunk of the fading corpse.

…

…

"What the hell was that?!" I rounded on Nicholas with a scandalized expression. I couldn't take it anymore! What the hell was wrong with this night?! After everything that happened, I get to witness a self-mutilation too?!

"An Iratus Grimm, problematic and fearsome pests, all of them," he explained through labored breaths, his body was obviously wasn't taking well to the stress and shock of losing a body part.

"Who cares about that stupid bug, I was talking about your arm that you just cut off like it's no big deal!" What was he thinking?!

"It stung me. Iratuses use paralytic venom to immobilize their victims. I couldn't let that happen so I prevented it from spreading any further," he shrugged in explanation and I scoffed.

"You know full well that your body can't handle that kind of trauma. It's too old and sickly," I argued concernedly. Nicholas hummed in response and looked away from me.

"Iratuses take care not to kill their victims, they need them alive to procreate, but it doesn't always work out. In my advanced condition if that venom reached my heart I would have died, simple as that. I'm a dead man walking Caryll, even if that Grimm didn't bite me I was most likely going to die in the coming weeks." My next attempt at scolding the man died in my throat and I looked at the ground dejectedly. Nicholas turned back to me with a resigned smile. "Do not fret over me, my Aura will keep me stable for the time being," he added with a softer tone.

"I know but still… you don't deserve this, nobody here does," I said as I looked over the train, if we don't find out what happened then the same fate would await everyone else onboard the train. If you weren't a trained Hunter the chances of survival in the Grimmlands were slim to none.

"I'm glad you think so, but you have to realize that no matter what lengths you go to, some people simply can't be saved." As if to emphasize his point a car that was torn open from the sides collapsed in on itself with a loud metallic groan. I turned back to Nicholas, if it was even possible his skin has turned even paler than before. He was also heavily favoring his cane to give him support. Just like the train cars, his body was failing itself.

"I'll look for some clues…" I quietly walked away in the direction of the train, the wet plops of my boots sinking in the mud accompanying me.

I was thoroughly done with this Gods' forsaken night, my mentor was dying, hundreds of people went missing, the fate of the White Fang was up in the air, with so many missing and no clear line of succession, Hunter training or no both Sienna and Ghira froze up and disappeared, Adam wasn't part of the White Fang at this point and Blake-

I stopped in my tracks.

What happened to Blake?

…

…

Without uttering a word, I jumped inside the ruined train and frantically searched for any sign of her.

* * *

I eventually reached the buffet car, shattered glass crunched beneath my feet as I anxiously made my way over to our table. I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked at the spot I last saw Blake at.

It was empty.

I glanced at the seats, no blood. I then checked the floor, no blood. Lastly I checked the table, finally I've found a small red stain on the tablecloth. I almost dismissed it as a ketchup stain, but then it occurred to me that we didn't have ketchup at the table.

What happened? The rest of the car is wrecked even more so than how last I saw it, so the Grimm definitely came through here before whatever affected our minds vanished.

"Have you found anything yet?" I heard Nicholas walk up beside me.

"We get attacked by a strange mental attack that left us completely vulnerable. I get fed on by some strange Grimm I've never thought could even exist, which by the way you recognize instantly and now my friend, along with all other passengers, disappears without a single trace… Nicholas, what the hell is going on?" I looked at him pleadingly for an answer, none of this made sense.

"I would have explained to you if you hadn't marched off to do your own thing and leave an old man on his own," he rebutted without missing a beat, making me wince.

"Sorry…" I sheepishly coughed into my hand. I was headfirst like that, wasn't I?

"Now, to answer your question; we've run into a hive of Iratus by chance and paid the price for it."

"There it is again, just what the hell is an Iratus and how do you know about them? I've grown up in a family of Hunters and read several bestiaries, but I've never seen or heard even a mention of these things."

"Hmm, it's not the first time I've come across an Iratus, but I have to admit that the last time I did I was only a student myself," he shrugged dismissively. "Iratuses, amongst other highly dangerous Grimm were hunted to extinction by the first generation of Hunters that came out of the Academies. I'm not that surprised history tried to forget that whole lot. It would only incite anxiety in the masses if they knew Grimm like this ever existed," Nicholas explained with a thoughtful frown.

"So, they just removed any mention of them from the history books?" I frowned at the implication that some people would hide vital information from the masses.

"Does it matter? People were convinced that they were hunted down to the last critter," he countered halfheartedly, but it was obvious he didn't agree completely with the standpoint.

"Well, they apparently missed a spot," I deadpanned. "And what do you mean by extinction?" Grimm don't just go 'extinct', they don't have genitalia, they weren't made with procreation in mind. They are created in the Pool of Darkness and in other hidden spawning pools all around the world.

"Iratuses are a special kind of Grimm, their behavior greatly differs from other Grimm, what's more we've actually observed their process of… replication." I thought back to the bug I encountered and how it used me as 'food'.

"They use people," I prompted.

"Aura to be exact, they target every living being to steal their Aura and use it to replicate themselves. This, coupled with their behavior marked them as prime candidates for immediate eradication by the first licensed Hunters," Nicholas elaborated further.

"But why use Aura in the first place?" Grimm are born of darkness, shouldn't Aura hurt them? Then again the Grimm bug that stole Amber's powers displayed an ability like the Iratus'.

"Grimm only exist to hunt and kill humans and Faunus. The way they achieve this doesn't matter to them. Iratuses just figured out how to fulfill their purpose and make more of themselves in the process. They paralyze their victims and drain their Aura until they die of either blood loss or dehydration." That's… a horrible way to go. I don't know what's worse, being torn apart by a Grimm or just watching it for days as it sucks your soul out. It reminded me of a permanent and lethal version of sleep paralysis.

"And the behavior?" I nodded uncomfortably.

"They are more intelligent than they seem. They are aware that they are frail and weak compared to most of their prey. As you no doubt saw, Iratuses are generally speaking a lot more docile than other Grimm, in fact they only turn overtly hostile if they feel threatened or are ready to strike." I nodded and compiled everything I knew so far about these things, however something didn't feel right.

"I don't get it… Sure they are somewhat dangerous for unsuspecting people, but in a fight even my dog could kill one, yet you said that they are to be feared. Even to the extent that an entire generation of Hunters went out of their way to curb their numbers…"

"Grimm are nothing more than ever-evolving, self-aware killing machines, Iratuses especially so. They are intelligent, cunning and insidious. They are aware of their weaknesses and adapted to every single one of them. Individually they are ambush predators, nothing more than nuisances, so they gathered into swarms to seek strength in numbers. The swarms had strength, but lacked protection while they fed on their victims, so they retreated into cave systems and abandoned mines, forming hives. Then when even that wasn't enough against a humanity wielding Dust alongside Aura, they adapted once more."

"Iratuses are, physically speaking, frail, weak and despicable creatures. They are aware of those facts, so they make other Grimm do their work for them." Everything clicked together at that moment; the missing people, the weird behavior of the Grimm and the strange mental attack.

"When you said they were insidious, what did you mean by that? Are they like the Apathy?" I asked Nicholas, mind running miles per second.

"In a sense, but they can affect anyone and anything to do their bidding." And just like that, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place at his confirmation.

"The train passed by an Iratus hive, they disabled everyone on board and used other Grimm to transport themselves here, where they latched onto the passengers, the Grimm then transported them back to the hive, meaning…" I rambled to myself, but stopped when my revelation opened a can of worms that eluded me until now.

Blake wasn't supposed to be in an attack when she was this young. I chose this path; I led us straight into an ambush and failed to protect too many people. Just because I wanted to get to Vacuo as soon as I could.

This was my fault.

"The missing passengers are most likely alive; dragged off to somewhere, scared and injured, but alive nonetheless," Nicholas finished my line of thought with a half shrug. That made me snap out of my thoughts and stare with newfound determination, and guilt, at the older man.

"Then what are we waiting for? We have to rescue them!" He could have told me this while we searched for the hive, right now we were doing nothing but wasting time!

"Of course, but we can't take this situation lightly. With the numbers they can gain from feeding on the passengers the Grimm can threaten the frontiers if not the kingdom itself… I have to set up a distress beacon to alert the kingdom in case we fail. Besides, we must plan out our strategy, lest we end up needing to be rescued ourselves," Nicholas countered, making me pause… He was right, if an Iratus stings us we're done for, same if we freeze up again.

"Right…" I nodded distractedly, mind running miles per minute for solutions to these problems. Nicholas said something about activating the beacon and left me to my thoughts.

This was my mess to fix. I had to make this right. I narrowed my eyes in thought and ran a hand through my hair. From what Nicholas told me Iratuses lived underground in organized hives like ants, which meant enclosed spaces and long tunnels. It would be a nightmarish place to fight in, even more so because it would be so dark, not even Faunus could see…

It's good thing then that none of those disadvantages applied to me in the slightest.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Nicholas asked his young Apprentice as he exited the train. The boy was kneeling in the mud beside the still disintegrating corpse of the Wyvern, while his dog was trotting around with its nose pressed to the ground.

"Planning, like you said," Caryll replied, still looking at the ground. Nicholas approached him and looked at the ground before the boy. He chuckled amusedly to himself, his student had nailed an Iratus, probably the one he had noticed back before their incident, to the ground with two knives, one in the body and the other in the tail.

"It will be tricky, but I think that with your glyphs and my eyes we can destroy the entire hive," he said and stood up straight. Nicholas was about to question him further when a flash of light momentarily blinded him. When he reopened his eyes the Grimm had faded to a cloud of ash and dust.

"Oh, you've already awakened your heritage?" It was certainly surprise, especially done by someone so young.

"You know about it?" Caryll turned to him with a puzzled expression.

"I told you I knew your great-grandfather, of course I'm aware of it," Nicholas reminded with a scoff.

"Oh, you did… at least I won't have to waste time by explaining it…" The young redhead muttered under his breath. "Anyways, what do you think?"

"It sounds plausible, but how do you suggest we find the hive?" Nicholas hummed in thought after hearing his young apprentice's proposal. Truthfully, he himself had already devised a plan to rescue as many as they could, finding the nest would be the easiest part since he could summon a murder of Nevermores and have them scour the area. It would be child's play, really.

But he instead opted to let the boy take charge while he provided advice. It was true that Nicholas himself could have done this task easily, but not everybody had his Semblance to rely on, it would do no good for Caryll to just follow along and do nothing.

It was the way he taught, let the student take charge while he took a backseat and guided them through success and failure. Besides, Caryll proved to be a somewhat capable fellow, if their previous conversations were to go by. Of course, there were a few negatives he noticed too; he was brooding too much and he was confident to a fault, some would say outright stubborn and arrogant, but then again that was a trait their kind shared as a whole.

Caryll smirked and motioned towards his dog.

"Zwei." Nicholas looked at him questioningly, so he elaborated, "I can't see any trails of Aura around us, probably because the Iratuses are sucking people dry, so we can only follow their scents."

"It has been raining for days, what makes you think their scents hadn't faded away by now?" It was a good start, but he had to account for their environment as well.

"Blood. When the Grimm bite someone they leave behind a wound that won't close with their fangs still in the body. Meaning that they leave behind a faint trail of blood wherever they go. Blood has one of the strongest natural scents, I have no doubt that Zwei could pick up their trail and lead us to the hive," he reasoned with a wide smile and his dog yipped in agreement. Nicholas nodded approvingly, using the… bloodhound was certainly imaginative.

"Hmm, looks like I was right to take you as my student, you do seem to be quick on the uptake, though your attitude could still use some correction." Zwei barked sharply and shot off in a seemingly random direction. Knowing better than to assume so, Nicholas walked after it without acknowledging his miffed apprentice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Caryll replied indignantly as he made to follow.

"That you're always brooding, that's not healthy, especially for a growing girl like yourself," he shot back with a hidden smirk.

…

"Stupid old snowman…" Caryll muttered under his breath, though his lips twitched into a smile.

"It wasn't entirely a jest you know; you do seem troubled," Nicholas decided to address his student's issue. He's never been good with children, the strained relationship between him and his daughter was proof of that, but he felt obligated to at least try to help his protégé out. He was almost caught off guard when he actually replied.

"Well, I haven't had an easy week to say the least… And then there is this whole mess with the train that I could have avoided," Caryll admitted after a moment of pause.

"You're making it sound like you're at fault for what happened here."

"That's because I am," his student responded with a scowl.

"Whatever gave you that asinine idea?" He stopped in his tracks and regarded his student with genuine confusion.

"I chose this route, didn't I?" Caryll offered wryly.

"You're not at fault for not knowing that there was a hive of thought-to-be-extinct Grimm along the path. If you're insistent on blaming someone, then we are at fault in equal measure since I was the one who endorsed your decision," Nicholas reasoned calmly and resumed his walking.

"…" The boy still didn't look convinced, making the older man sigh.

"Look, the choice you've made was the right one. Given the amount of information presented at the time I would have chosen likewise, most would," he elaborated further. "In life it's possible to make all the right decisions and still fail, it just so happens that in our line of work failure means death."

"…It's not that," the young Rose said softly. Nicholas glanced at him questioningly, he almost didn't catch his student's admission.

"I didn't choose this option because I thought it was right. I chose it because it was the fastest way for me to get on with my search… That it was the logical choice was just a convenient excuse presented at the time," Caryll explained with a guilty expression. Nicholas thought for a moment and came to a surprising conclusion he wasn't expecting in the slightest.

"This isn't about the routes or the lives of the passengers, is it?"

"Not entirely… I understand death differently than most. When a person dies, they leave behind… a hole in the world that's filled with pain and sorrow. That pain affects everyone, it poisons the world and only makes it more miserable… Unfortunately, there's plenty of that in this world," he muttered the last part bitterly. "I don't feel guilty because people may die, that's just a detestable part of everyday life in Remnant. I feel guilty because I'm the one who'd cause that pain to others…" Caryll continued somberly.

"What happened to being 'ready to do what's necessary'? I recall you were quite fervent in your declaration," Nicholas pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"I meant what I said… just not at someone else's expense. I'm completely fine with sacrificing everything if the need arises, but I don't have that kind of power over everyone else, nor do I want that," Caryll replied in a subdued tone, eyes staring at the muddy ground. Ah, so he was that kind of person, the kind that would rather shoulder a burden than leave it to someone else, the old Schnee hummed in understanding. It seemed like he had originally misjudged his Apprentice… it really shouldn't have been surprising, seeing as it wasn't the first time it happened to him.

"I never thought of myself as a selfish person, I strive for my dream for the benefit of others. I lived my whole life with this belief, I planned to live by it once I started my journey… but then the day actually came, I left to the outside world and the first major decision I make is a selfish one that endangered the lives of hundreds just because I want to see my Mo- I… I just don't know what that makes me… a hypocrite? Something worse?" Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and his shoulders trembled. Nicholas remained silent for a minute, pondering how he should handle his young protégé's internal crisis. Realizing that their time together will likely end before dawn broke; he decided to tell him a story.

"I suppose it's a better time than any to share the second reason with you. You remind me of us, how we were back then." Caryll turned back to him with confused, welled up eyes.

"You've said that before, who's us?"

"Those who see, those who open their eyes and not only see how horrific our world is, but also see what it could be… People like us are few and far between nowadays; people have gotten used to the comforts offered by the protection of the kingdoms and refuse to look outside their walls to see the frightening world. Back in my time however…"

* * *

Night was falling upon the city of Mantle; streetlights were coming alive and all manner of shops were closing down in preparation of the freezing night. Miners finished their work and boarded trucks that would take them to the city, or at least those who were fortunate enough not to wear collars and chains. One of the younger miners was one of the luckier ones, he had a home to come back to, even if it felt empty ever since he was left alone nearly two years ago.

He hopped off the truck once it reached its destination and landed on the small layer of snow covering the streets. He smiled a little, others would complain about the cold it brought, but he didn't mind, he found snow pretty. He turned back to wave at the others before walking off towards his apartment.

Others told him that his situation was absurd, but that hadn't bothered him much, without his parents he didn't have much of a say in how he wished to live. He was only 10 years old and he was working and living alone. His sister told him that it was outrageous, but with the war raging on things gained a different perspective.

Or at least that's what she said, he was born not long after the war broke out, so he couldn't really know for sure.

The orphanages are overflowing, so we're on our own. With the war going on the kingdom can't provide for us, so we're on our own. I'm 15 now, I'll be drafted soon, so you'll be on your own.

That's what she kept saying, apologetically as if this wasn't supposed to be normal, but to him it felt like that. He really disliked seeing her like that, sad and wistful.

He arrived at his apartment and unlocked the front door. He stepped in and took off his rugged coat and boots, then he went towards the living room to unpack some of his stuff, only to freeze up in the doorway, icy blue eyes wide in shock at seeing what was in front of him.

"There you are, I've been waiting for a while now, you know." A young woman of similar hair and eye color smiled nonchalantly at him from the living room couch. She had changed since the last time he saw her; she let her hair grow out to fall freely on her shoulders and her previously pale skin gained a slight tan under the Vacuo sun.

"K-Kara?" Nicholas stuttered tentatively.

"Long time no see, Nicky," the older Schnee sibling smiled kindly again, but when she didn't hear a response her expression fell, her younger brother was rooted on the spot, shoulders trembling and tears falling from his eyes. Seeing this Kara quickly got up from the couch and ran over to him to embrace her crying sibling.

"What's wrong? Are you alright? Was it something I said? I'm sorry, you know how I can be sometimes," she rambled on as she checked him over just in case she misunderstood and he had a physical injury. Dust mining was a dangerous profession after all.

"I-I just-… you're back," Nicholas said between sobs, earning a confused look from her sister.

"Of course I am. I promised I would be back, didn't I?" Nicholas' breathing evened out a bit and he looked aside with a pained expression.

"Mother and father said that too…" Kara hummed understandingly, their parents became casualties of the war and the world in one way or the other. "…I heard of what happened in Vacuo- and I thought…" She flinched at her brother's weakly spoken reminder, looking at it that way she couldn't really fault him for his assumptions, she hardly believed she had survived that day herself.

"Well, the war is over and I'm here for now," she shook off the bad memory and squeezed him reassuringly. They remained there for a few moments until Nicholas pulled back and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

"What do you mean 'for now'?" He asked hesitantly.

"I… I'm planning on returning to Vacuo and becoming a Huntress," she managed to say after a moment.

"A Huntress?"

"Mhmm, have you heard of them?" She confirmed with a shallow nod.

"They are supposed to be people who fight Grimm… Kara, you want to fight even after the war?" Her younger brother asked disbelievingly, voice fragile.

"It was… hard, fighting out there. I got tangled up in something big and I don't think I can come back from it…" She sighed with a strained expression. "Do you remember my dream? That one day I wanted to show you what's supposed to be normal? Not this… I don't know…"

"Course I remember, you kept talking about it all the time," he said without missing a beat, she would make it an announcement every time someone even remotely mentioned the topic.

"I still want to do that. I want to change the world for the better, being a Huntress just coincides with that," she shrugged and smiled weakly in explanation. Nicholas frowned, he didn't like it but he knew his sister wouldn't budge on this. Still, he had to ask.

"Why Vacuo?" This time she frowned, thinking about how to best word her answer so her little brother would understand.

"I met someone in Vacuo who I think is worth following. He… offered me a position that I would like to take up," she settled after a moment of internal debate. Whatever calming effect she thought it would have on him, it did exactly the opposite. Nicholas blinked away his remining tears and looked up at his older sister with a heartbroken expression.

"You're leaving again…"

"Not right away, I will be here for a while, but yes..." Kara's eyes drooped in sympathy, she didn't want to leave her brother, but she needed to do this. She sighed and put a hand on his shoulder in an effort to comfort the younger Schnee.

"I know you're going to be fine Nicky, you're strong and-"

"I want to help you," he cut her off sharply and hugged her around her midsection.

"Huh?"

"If you keep leaving me behind again and again then I want to go with you and help with your dream so you can come back and stay…" He rattled off rapidly only to suddenly lose momentum and fall into silence.

"I don't think-" she tried to dissuade him, he hadn't seen war and he was only a child, but he cut her off again.

"I'll study as much as I can and I'll learn how to fight. I'll find a way to help you no matter what, that's my dream. You said that being a Huntress just coincides with your dream, well then becoming a Hunter just coincides with mine," he said resolutely, Kara looked down surprisedly at him and his small face, all red and puffy from crying but filled with determination. Shock faded into contentment and soon Kara found herself smiling. She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes.

"Thank you…"

"If it means getting to see you again," he confirmed quietly.

"You know, this somebody had a… lamp on him that he wanted me and a few others to protect for the time being. I even got an answer to a question I posed at the time," she said contemplatively.

"What did you ask?"

"I was… conflicted at the time, Things weren't going well and I wanted nothing but to see you, mother and father again… so I asked if I could," Kara explained, her gaze wandering off, as if she was reminiscing. "Apparently according to some old legend, you can meet whoever you'd like one last time in a place called Limbo."

"Limbo? What's that?" Nicholas asked confusedly, he'd never heard of anything like that before.

"After we die, we can choose to remain in a place and wait for anyone before we pass on and part ways," she elaborated as they broke apart from the hug.

"That sounds dumb." He scrunched up his face.

"Yeah, it kind of does," she chuckled in agreement.

…

"If it's real could we…?" Nicholas asked tentatively, eyes not meeting hers.

"Of course." That was all he needed to hear to smile again.

* * *

"Do you really believe that Limbo place exists?" I sniffled and wiped at my eyes with the fabric of my cloak. Internally I was conflicted, I didn't remember any sort of place between life and death, so I was a bit skeptical about it at first, but then Nicholas' sister mentioned something that caught my attention. A person with a lamp and an answered question… if I was right then the answer she received must have been the truth, which would mean Remnant had a separate afterlife, or was what I thought to be the afterlife simply this Limbo place-?

I sighed internally, it was only baseless speculation on my part and that wouldn't get me anywhere.

"I'd like to think it does. It's been decades too long since I last saw my sister… I'd like to think she's there waiting for me," Nicholas told me as Zwei guided us through the forest. The vegetation was different from earlier, more… sickly. The ground itself was void of grass and the trees were also barren of most of their leaves, we must be close to the nest then.

"Decades? What happened to her?" I didn't remember any other Schnee from my previous life and neither from this one, so I was curious as to what happened to her.

"She and her team went on a mission together and never returned… Gods how long ago was it? 48 years?" He shook his head, no doubt not liking the little reminder about his age. "Those were confusing times; I remember one day I was talking to her over the CCT about her next mission like any other time and then… nothing. For months nothing happened, concerned friends and colleagues returned empty handed from their searches one after the other, each unsuccessful mission hammering the nail deeper and deeper. They were gone and there was nothing we could do about it." Nicholas paused in his retelling and I glanced at him to see tears gathering in his eyes. I placed a hand on his remaining arm in silent support.

"Then finally, years later her team leader reappeared, but even he was nothing but a shell of the man he once was. A madman who's only goal was to destroy the dream we have been working for 20 years by that point," my old mentor continued after a moment of pause. There was no hate in his voice, only tiredness.

"A madman…?" My eyes widened in recognition of the tale he was telling me. "You mean Gehrman? Your sister was part of Team ASHE?"

"Kara Schnee; the only Dust Alchemist to surpass me and the finest Huntress Atlas has ever produced," he smiled in confirmation. "Team ASHE was like a second family to her; I've met them a couple of times myself during those years and immediately saw why she thought so. They were kindred spirits, all of them strived for their image of a world that seemed improbable at best after the catastrophe that was the Great War. There were others like us with similar ideals and together we shaped Remnant into what you see today." We descended into silence after that, with me mulling over his words for a few minutes.

"You've failed," I told him bluntly after a bit of thought. "I may not know what Remnant was like 70 years ago, but I know that we're still nowhere near what your sister envisioned." I didn't feel like mincing words, not when our time together was as limited as it was.

"We all chased our own dreams in a different manner with varying degrees of success," Nicholas replied thoughtfully. "Team ASHE took the most direct approach and drove the Grimm out of the kingdoms. Your great-grandfather became a teacher at the Huntsmen Academies after the war and the last king of Vale played a hand in reorganizing the kingdoms so long-term peace could be achieved."

"So what did you do?" I asked pointedly.

"Why, I founded the SDC of course," Nicholas replied with a chuckle. "Dust is the lifeblood of humanity. Nature's wrath incarnate that could power cities or destroy armies if used correctly. A beautiful and volatile resource that was in short supply during and after the war," he explained like an artist describing a color. "No matter how hard I tried my sister was always the better fighter between the two of us. It took me a while to accept that, but eventually I turned my attention towards how I could help her vision, even if it was in an indirect manner. I've found my answer in Dust. I assembled countless expeditions and found more deposits than I care to remember. With those resources exploited and properly distributed the kingdoms began to prosper," he reasoned with a small smile, meanwhile I was chuckling nervously to myself, trying to imagine a better fighter than the old man beside me, not a lot of things trump a summon the size of a house.

"If all of you worked so hard and for so long, then why… what happened?" I questioned uncomfortably after his lecture.

"Team ASHE's disappearance took a toll on all of us and with Gehrman's return and consequent crusade any idea of further excursions into the Grimmlands were put to an end. The poor man had to be put down like a rabid dog in the end by someone he once considered a friend," he shook his head in a disappointed manner.

"You're making it sound like he was a victim." I frowned at Nicholas, that man butchered and burned down an entire school and planned on doing the same at least three more times. I didn't have much pity towards mass murderers.

"He was in a way. He was my friend too, once upon a time. You've never met him, but I've seen recordings of him not long after his reappearance. His expression, his tone of voice, it was the same as before, when we worked alongside each other." He paused for effect. "To this day I think he truly believed that what he was doing was right, right until the very end." I silently stopped and regarded my teacher warily, the parallels were not lost on me, and they were making me uncomfortable.

"After his and the king's death it was over," he continued when he realized I wasn't going to offer any input. "Others like your great-grandfather retired, faded into obscurity, until only I was left. I took on an apprentice, someone who I thought I could pass the torch to, so to speak. I gave the company to him and just like that, our generation and ideals came to an end," he spoke bitterly. I shook myself out of my stupor and caught up to the old Schnee still trailing behind Zwei.

"But the SDC is one of the biggest companies on Remnant, your dream is-"

"My dream has been taken away from me and tarnished," Nicholas cut me off harshly before coughing roughly into his hand. "The SDC under my protégé is now nothing more than a vile and twisted version of what I've envisioned decades ago," he spat angrily before taking a moment to compose himself.

"The king of Vale gave his life to stop a madman. Team ASHE either met an untimely end or lost their way. Your great-grandfather taught as many as he could but he couldn't make a difference in the end, and I mistook my student's greed for ambition… We've tried so many approaches and planned out everything and yet we still failed, our legacy is a group of unfinished dreams and twisted ideals. It's like a curse that follows around people like us." I listened to his emotional recounting of the past with wide eyes. Suddenly, a lot of things made sense, both big and small. Why Weiss viewed the Schnee name like she did when her grandfather started just as a miner. Why such disparity existed between the kingdoms and the borderlands and so much more. The Remnant of today was a Godless, nightmare ridden project that was left unfinished by people like me.

"Nicholas… I'm grateful to you for sharing your story with me, but… Why tell me all this?" What was his point? And why tell me now?

"Like I said before, my second reason for taking you on as my apprentice is because you remind me of how we were back then," he grumbled in response. "…The main difference between a tragedy and a comedy is the ending. Our story is over, but yours is only starting. As your teacher it's my responsibility to make sure you learn from our mistakes and succeed where we failed." He looked up at the night sky to see the clouds slowly breaking apart, "preferably I would have taken things at a much slower pace, but our time is short. Figure out why we failed and you'll figure out the third reason too."

"But didn't you just tell me? Some of you lost your way and-" I said confusedly only to be cut off once more.

"I've told you how we failed, not why," he rebuked blankly.

"If it's so important, why not simply tell me?" I grumbled frustratedly.

"You have to find it out yourself, otherwise its meaning will be lost on you. Your great-grandfather found that out the hard way. I've told you our tale and provided all the information you need to work out an answer. That is your final lesson," he said in a tone that left no room for argument. I frowned but accepted it his reasoning.

I was about to call out to Zwei to check up on him, when he suddenly stopped in place and growled at the dead forest before him. Nicholas and I glanced at each other from the corner of our eyes and took out our weapons in preparation for whatever got Zwei agitated. A few seconds of terse silence followed when nothing happened, the forest was silent for the most part, only the wind howled weakly between the trees. I was about to activate my eyes when I felt it. Tremors shook the ground beneath our feet and flocks of birds took flight from the trees all around the forest.

"An earthquake? Are we near any fault lines?" I asked the older Hunter beside me. Some animals could foretell natural disasters after all.

"No… I believe our mission just got infinitely harder," Nicholas replied warily. This caused me to look incredulously in his direction. The old man took out a full-grown Wyvern like it was nothing, what could possibly be enough to make him say that?

"What's going on-?" A deep shriek, that was closer to a roar just because of its sheer volume, filled the night around us as the tremors got larger and larger- and they seemed… rhythmic?

"We're about to have an audience with a queen," came the simple reply from the old Schnee.

Any response I might've had died in my throat when an impossibly large Iratus came into view as it crawled on top of a nearby mountain ridge. Each step with its titanic legs caused rock formations to crumble while its massive tail lifted off the ground in a threatening manner, its height reminded me of a skyscraper more than anything else. It traded the slimy appearance its smaller brethren preferred to a hardened carapace made up of bones and thick skin.

However, the Iratus Queen's most defining features were the countless number of eyes situated on its back, even from here I could make out the intelligence, and cold hatred, in them.

I could tell because they were staring straight into mine.

* * *

_Red herring Wyvern is a red herring._

_Consider the Iratus Grimm as a sort of precursor to the Grimm beetle that was used to steal Amber's powers. Salem was shown to be able to modify Grimm how she wants to, so it's not unlikely she made that custom beetle out of something._

_Apologies if this chapter somehow wasn't up to par, I had to write and rewrite it 3 times, so needless to say I was getting tired of it. Originally this chapter was supposed to end this arc, but surprise-surprise, it went on for too long so I cut it in half so I could put something out there. It might mean the next chapter will be shorter than usual but eh, a lot will happen in it so I think it'll be fine._

_Useless trivia fact; the name Kara is related to purity in Greek mythology._

_Also, no. Kara is not a reincarnated person. She's just someone who saw a lot and dreamt even more._

_No omake this time, since I wanted this chapter to be done before Christmas. Though here is some Chancellor Schnee for you._

_**Ironic…**_

_Caryll: Master, I've figured out the third reason.  
Nicholas: Well, let's hear your answer.  
Caryll: It's plot armor!  
Nicholas: Excellent, my Padawan. Most of us didn't make it into the show so we didn't have the plot on our side, we were destined to be written off one way or the other. Never forget the importance of good plot armor.  
Caryll: You're right… but how can I get more? I'm already the main character, so that should be enough, but I don't really feel like it is…  
Nicholas: Have you ever heard the tragedy of Darth MC the Mary Sue?  
Caryll: No, I haven't.  
Nicholas: I thought not, it's not a story a writer would tell you… Darth MC was an SI so perfect and OP in every way, that he could influence the characters and the plot to create… the perfect fanfiction.  
Caryll: Is it possible to learn this power?  
Nicholas: *smirks* Not from a listed character.  
Caryll: So to be perfect I have to be involved with every single plot thread somehow? But how? Wait… maybe Gehrman and Kara got together before their death and had a child, who would later have another child who would become my father! That would make your sister my great-grandma and you my great-granduncle!  
Nicholas: Yes, yes… Let the Mary Sueness flow through you.  
Caryll: I'm 1/8 Schnee, and I was thinking the white hairs on my head was because of stress or something. Does that mean I can use the OP Semblance? Urgh! But how can I be involved in the Faunus plot when I'm human and a Schnee at that?  
Nicholas: The dark side of writing is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be… cringeworthy. You can join the White Fang and become its only human member that's somehow tolerated despite it making no sense whatsoever.  
Caryll: I shouldn't… it's not the MC way…  
Nicholas: Do it!  
*twelve chapters and a lot of regret later*  
TRP: What have I done?*cries tears of sorrow*_

_Reviews:_

_Vostok: No problem man, I kind of deserve it._

_shall words/ElDaniWar: Already tried, files weren't recoverable._

_Guest: You'll get to see his symbol two chapters from now on._

_asterino/Guest: At home. Chillin'._

_GodOfPixies: Believe me, I asked myself the same question right after it happened, but I learned my lesson and save any progress I make to cloud storage._

_Oblivious IJ: I was honestly wondering why I was getting so many reviews asking where is Susano'o when I clearly said I only took Kamui/Hiraishin from Naruto. Then I saw your review, reread that chapter and had a huge Bruh moment. Leave it to me to not notice the obvious Naruto reference I made by mistake. Honestly I was just thinking about what would corrupted Silver Eyes look like, and I was like, red is like a really corrupt color or something. The flames were supposed to be violet because they're essentially same as the one used by the GoD, I must have subconsciously made a typo for it to be black. I corrected my mistake by now._

_So yeah, thanks for pointing that out. Hopefully now I'll get fewer Naruto related reviews :D._

_Until next time!_


	15. Chapter 15

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and this is the fifteenth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. A couple things happened between updates, namely that we've reached 1k favorites and 100k views on the story, which is crazy for me think about. So, to celebrate reaching these milestones, I'll be doing something special soon, so stay on the lookout in the next week or so :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 15: Ignis et glacies**

"Why hasn't it attacked us yet?" I asked warily without looking at Nicholas, instead my eyes were focused on the unmoving Titan before us. My hands gripped my knives harshly and my legs felt a bit jittery, all in anticipation at the fight that for some reason hasn't started yet.

"…It's studying us. Most Grimm just charge in recklessly because they think of us as prey, but I remember your great-grandfather telling me that they usually treated him as an equal. I believe it hasn't made any moves yet because it's wary of your kind," Nicholas explained with a light scowl adorning his face.

"That's flattering… I think," I blinked in surprise.

"Do not misunderstand, it wants nothing more than to kill you and me. It's just figuring out the best way to go about it," he warned flatly. "Besides, time isn't on our side. Every second the swarm grows in numbers unless we rescue the passengers," he narrowed his eyes at the Iratus Queen looming over us. I looked at the ground in thought before nodding to myself.

"Then we'd better not waste any more time," I declared and charged forwards. Nicholas yelled something to me, but I didn't hear it as I warped myself away. I reappeared high above the Iratus Queen and let myself fall downwards to build up pressure behind my eyes. This Titan was by far, the largest Grimm I've ever seen, even larger than the Wyvern at Mountain Glenn or the Leviathan at Argus. I would have to hit it with the largest burst of light I could make to have a chance at beating this thing.

After a few seconds of freefalling I let out a small breath and reopened my eyes to look at the Grimm below me, all of its monstrous eyes were fixated on my falling form, good. I let go of the built-up pressure and the world around me disappeared in a sea of white.

…

An ear-piercing, shrill cry alerted me at first, but when I landed on black flesh instead of grey stone, I realized that something was definitely wrong. I looked around frantically to see that the eyes on the Iratus' back were shut closed and that my attack only caused the creature to recoil in pain. It thrashed around under my feet like a burned animal before leaping off the mountain and high up into the sky. After a few seconds of weightlessness, we impacted the ground with enough force to demolish hectares of forest and scar the very earth itself.

I shook off my dizziness and warped myself away from the very angry Grimm. I reappeared on a large branch of a still standing tree and caressed the side of my head, for some reason the pressure didn't leave my eyes like any other time I used my powers, it was nauseating and a bit disconcerting. If that… malfunction wasn't alarming enough, the fact that Iratus Queen withstood petrification certainly was. Sure, it was still affected by my eyes, but ultimately all I managed to do was piss it off.

Well, I guess we'd have to do it the old-fashioned way.

The Iratus stopped thrashing around and turned to face me, how it knew where I were was lost on me, since from my perspective I was like an ant to it, and attacked with a shriek. It lifted one of its gigantic front legs and slammed it down towards me, crushing my, and another dozen, trees to smithereens.

I jumped out of its leg and rematerialized to throw a fistful of Inferno knives at its white exoskeleton. The Dust explosives hit their mark and detonated in a bright fireball, however when the smoke faded its bone plates were only singed. No wonder, its armor seemed to be as thick as a Paladin was high, I mused with a wry expression before warping away as the gigantic appendage moved to swat at the place where I was.

I reappeared again at the base of the beast's head where the joints of its limbs were exposed for me to strike. I summoned a large violet glyph in one hand while preparing another handful of Lightning knives in the other. I moved the gravity glyph against the black flesh before me and jumped away for a moment to throw the crackling blades at the rotating glyph. The glyph attracted and sped up the knives, causing the electrocuted blades to effortlessly pierce the Grimm's flesh and disappear deep into the dark creature's limb. Not long after the sound of muffled thunder signaled the detonation of the knives, followed by the heat radiating from the melting flesh before me.

"So, you're not impervious-…" I trailed off as I saw the Grimm's skin ripple, as if something was moving around under it, then tendrils of darkness emerged around me. I preemptively jumped away to safety and the tendrils moved to surround the wounded area. They mended the injury left behind and the Grimm's skin stitched together in a matter of seconds.

I landed on the scarred and muddy ground and frowned wryly at the monstrosity before me. Things… honestly didn't look promising. This thing was nigh impervious to anything I could throw at it; its armor was too thick to pierce, it had regenerative abilities with unknown limits and most importantly it could power through a full-powered blast from my eyes-

The Iratus Queen's eyes snapped open and its pupils dilated to the point where its red irises were completely blocked out. The piercing headache from earlier returned with full force and the accompanying numbness spread over my body before I could even register what was happening. My muscles slackened and I fell to the muddy ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

No, no, not this again, I internally panicked and widened my eyes as I saw the Titan lift one of its front legs, its form blocking out the cracked moon above, and slam it down towards me.

However, before it could pulverize me like an insect, an ethereal white shield appeared in its way and deflected the otherwise lethal blow to the side. The unexpected parry left the beast open for a counter strike from Nicholas' freshly summoned cloaked knight, it raised its blade high before swinging it down diagonally.

The Iratus Queen shrieked in pain as the blade sliced through an exposed joint on its limb, the severed leg impacted the ground and sent tremors through the forest. The Grimm retaliated with its stinger crashing against the knight's circular shield, the two met with a resounding clang, but the disparity of strength between the two giants was made clear instantly. The shield shattered under the pressure of the Titan and left the half-knight defenseless against another stake-like leg from striking its chest, impaling the summon. The beast lifted its defeated foe in the air and slammed it back against the ground with a victorious roar.

While this fight of gigantic proportions took place, I was unexpectedly scooped up by a flying summon of some sorts. It felt like being the defenseless fish that was caught by a hawk, a quiet portion of my mind observed annoyedly. The summon took me away from the battle and dropped me unceremoniously on the ground around the time when I could feel control slowly returning to my body.

"That was unexpectedly foolish of you, charging in like that," I heard the unamused voice of Nicholas near me. I wiped the mud from my face and got to my feet, feeling the numbness completely fade from my body. The Schnee's summon landed beside us, a Wyvern roughly the size of the newborn I've fought, and patiently waited for further orders.

"Thank you for the save," I replied before Zwei jumped on my shoulder and whined concernedly in my ear. "I was just trying to find its weakness if not end it quickly, so we can come up with a plan- "

"Leave," Nicholas cut me off with a sigh.

"What?" I asked confusedly.

"Your Semblance allows you to leave whenever you wish, correct?" At my hesitant nod he continued. "Then leave. This is not a fight any person alive can hope to win," he declared with a nod to himself.

"You can't be serious," I protested incredulously, he wanted me to leave him and everyone else to die?

"Titans earned their reputation for a reason, Caryll. You just saw for yourself that not even your heritage could hurt one."

"But we injured it! We can kill it!" I gestured animatedly in the direction of the wounded beast. Nicholas chuckled humorlessly and nodded in the direction of the Titan.

"Did we?" I followed his gaze and saw the same dark tendrils from earlier merge together and rapidly regrow the Grimm's the lost limb, bone armor and all, in a matter of seconds. I stared at it for what felt like an eternity, trying to comprehend the true difficulty and scale of the fight before me.

It was leagues beyond us, wasn't it…?

"The most we can do is delay the inevitable and I'll do just that. In the meantime, you go on ahead into the nest and rescue the passengers," the old Hunter told me tiredly with a tone of finality that I barely had the will to question.

"…B-but the plan. I can't do it alone!" I protested weakly, I needed him and his glyphs for the plan I had mind.

"Have some faith in yourself, I didn't spend almost an entire week hammering some sense into your head for you to fail now," he turned back to me with a somewhat reassuring smile. "Now go, I'll keep the Queen occupied for as long as I can."

I gazed at Nicholas with a myriad of conflicting emotions welling up inside me. It was clear to me that my old teacher didn't have much time left either way, but leaving him to die alone just felt… wrong. Still, he had a point, someone had to save the passengers and unless the kingdom sent us an entire air-fleet to take that Queen down… I sighed and nodded solemnly to my teacher, that responsibility fell on my shoulders. I almost warped myself away when a stray thought occurred to me.

"I know it probably won't change the outcome, but would this help?" I asked hesitantly before opening an outbound portal from my eye that deposited… a shipping container in front of us. The old Schnee looked at the metal container perplexedly before his eyes caught sight of the large snowflake symbol on its side.

…

…

The old Hunter turned to stare at me with an intensity that made me want to fidget in place.

"I- uhm, I'm sorry?" I ran a hand through my hair sheepishly. Nicholas shook his head in a seemingly disappointed manner, though I could make out a small upward curve to his lips. He then jumped onto the Wyvern's back and the summon flapped its wings in preparation for takeoff.

"I must admit that challenging a Titan is a suicidal endeavor even for myself…" He tapped his cane against the summon's back and closed his eyes. The giant knight reappeared nearby and placed the container on its back. "But I'll provide it with a challenge that it won't forget anytime soon." Several white glyphs appeared before the knight, before all launched themselves at the approaching Titan like shooting stars. The glyphs hit its limbs and locked them in place, holding down the behemoth for a few precious moments until Nicholas finished making his next move. Utilizing the Dust, I gave him, he summoned six rapidly spinning fire glyphs above the knight's palm and threw them at the struggling Grimm. The glyphs hit their mark and a fireball of epic proportions engulfed the monster, causing it to shriek in pain.

At seeing this I turned to Nicholas and we shared a nod of understanding, this was probably goodbye. He took off with the Wyvern under him and the knight charged at the Grimm that was burning like a pyre. I stood there for a moment, looking after him with a concerned expression before I followed his example and warped myself and Zwei away.

* * *

Finding the hive was an easier task than I'd imagined prior. With the unexpected appearance of the Iratus Queen as Nicholas called it, there was no need for tracking or other complicated methods, seeing as the Grimm Titan carved a path through the landscape as it moved to intercept us from the hive. All I had to do was follow the trail of destruction to its source.

Overall it hadn't taken five minutes of warping and fast cruising to reach my destination. What greeted me was a quiet and dark village by the foot of a mountain. The clouds have mostly parted by now, allowing the moonlight to bask the village before me. There were no lights on in any of the houses and there weren't any fires raging either, the faintly illuminated houses were also in a state of disrepair, meaning that whatever happened to this mining settlement took place decades ago. The only reminder that people ever lived in this ghost town were the crumbling buildings and mining shafts I could make out at the base of the mountain.

This was what Qrow and Raven told me in their cautionary tales, this was the true face of the Grimmlands.

From where I was standing it wasn't hard to make out the hole the Titan left behind while digging itself out of the mountain, confirming that the Grimm bugs took up residence inside the old mine shafts under the mountain. I made my way silently through the deserted town, uncaring of gaining any unwanted attention, until I reached one of the entrances to the tunnels. I approached the chain fence blocking my way inside and placed my palm against it.

Softly exhaling I opened my glowing eyes and looked downwards into the depths of the earth. What I saw confirmed my prior suspicions, rippling masses of darkness spread over the entirety of the mountain like veins in a body, twisting around colorful blobs of Dust and most converging around faint glimpses of light in the pits of the tunnel system.

I deactivated my eyes and frowned; there were so many, tens of thousands if I were to guess, too many to kill conventionally. Even if I decided to set off some of the remaining deposits of Dust it would destabilize the tunnels and cause a cave in, killing too many people for my liking. There simply wasn't any option that allowed me to get rid of the Grimm without killing the passengers too.

I let go of the fence and massaged my temple. My eyes were an obvious exception to this, but their effectiveness would be severely reduced once inside, I don't even know if I'd be able to flash my eyes so many times one after the other… Not to mention that the pressure inside my eyes still hasn't receded yet, it was causing me a migraine.

The plan was nigh impossible to pull off by myself, I could very well die if I went in there.

But what other option did I have? Leave and let everyone slowly die, even more once the swarm decided to target other settlements? I don't think I could look myself in the mirror again and say that my goal was the betterment of Remnant if I turned back now.

I tightened my hold around the chains before letting go and turning to the side to see a small maintenance building. I approached it and the door fell off its hinges once I touched the handle, I paid it no mind and made my way towards some rusty machinery inside. I fished out a Lightning Dust crystal from my bag and dusted off the control box of what I assumed was the emergency backup generator. It opened with a metallic groan and I placed the glowing crystal inside.

I closed the box and moved to the manual switch, but my hand stilled as a stray thought made its way to the forefront of my mind.

Nicholas told me that some people simply can't be saved, no matter how hard we tried. He seemed like he spoke from experience, decades of it. He sounded so sure of himself.

I hated it.

Even if I managed to theoretically kill every single Grimm down there, how was I supposed to get every passenger to safety? Even if I had enough Aura to make hundreds, possibly thousands of trips with Kamui back to the train or Vale, the Queen would return before I could finish and kill everyone present. How was I supposed to accept that so many would die because of a single mistake I made?

No, I would never accept it.

My hand slammed down on the switch and the old machinery whirred to life all around me. Lights flickered alive both inside and outside, half of them burned out instantly but more than enough remained to light up my surroundings and the countless tunnels underneath.

No one would die because of me, I scowled and walked back outside to warp away the chain fence blocking the entrance. I don't care about those stupid bugs or their seemingly invincible queen, I made the decision to set out after Summer. I won't back down from anything. I was the was in it sink or swim and I would not rest until I've found a way to save everyone.

With a steely expression I charged down the faintly lit tunnel.

Dealing with the Queen was a bridge I had to cross eventually, but the first hurdle was enacting a two-man plan on my lonesome… Nicholas thought I could do it and I wouldn't let him down like that… I need to reach the highest point of the shafts. I activated my eyes and sought out the highest ground possible through the myriad of crisscrossing pathways.

I also saw that I was about to have company, judging by the swirling masses of darkness approaching me from all directions. I could already feel pin pricks of pain appearing all over my head, blacking out the edges of my sight.

I took hold of a cluster of Gravity knives and hurled them at the ceiling. I jumped upwards and used the activating Dust to run upside down. Just in time as the ground beneath me erupted on several points, spewing out Grimm bugs by the dozens. Paying them no mind and looking on ahead I could spot even more holes opening up from the ground, producing more of the soulless abominations. The pin pricks became surgical needles and I held back a wince from the pain they caused.

Deciding that enough was enough, I repeated what I did to the Lancers and used a generous amount of Inferno Dust and Kamui to set the tunnel ablaze in a scorching whirlwind. The concentration of Grimm in my way evaporated without a trace while the tunnel suffered the after effects of my attack. The half rotten support beams caught on fire while the rust peeled away from the tracks in orange, glowing layers. I returned to the tracks, well aware of the black swarm chasing after me on literally every climbable surface, and with a single command, detonated the knives stuck in the ceiling.

The resulting dust cloud and cinders from the explosion rushed past my position and caused the tunnel to crumble, burying the pursuing Grimm under several tons of rock. I rematerialized once the danger was gone and made my way deeper into the abandoned mine, I wasn't worried about the cave in, I saw plenty of other exits the passengers could use to get out of here once I was done with this part of my mission.

However, this encounter did remind me about something interesting. I refrained from using my eyes because they were acting weirdly, even if it would have made my job here a bit easier. Another Iratus tried to ambush me by lunging at me from a dark crevice behind a crumbling pillar. A quick flash of my eyes made sure that only ashes touched my clothes and I didn't bother to stop to check for other Grimm, I had more pressing matters to think about.

I could still use my powers no problem, but then why couldn't I petrify the Iratus Queen when Ruby could have? She had done it with a Leviathan, so it wasn't unreasonable to think she could replicate that feat here. And that was only on her first time trying with conscious effort while I've been doing it for years.

Could it be that the Silver Eyes had a fixed upper limit to their strength? Varying from person to person?

Could it be that Ruby had more potential with them than I did?

It was a bittersweet thought, I felt proud that she could achieve so much, but it was a bit frustrating to think that I couldn't achieve the same-

I shook my head, the Silver Eyes are just a part of my arsenal, not my win-all trump card, they are tools just like my knives and Semblance, their purpose is to serve me in my goals. I knew this beforehand, of course, but maybe I should have taken the comparison more literally.

My eyes are just tools.

Tools in the hands of a master are worth infinitely more than tools in the hands of a novice.

Ruby had to prepare to use her eyes, I can do it on the fly.

Tools can be pushed far past their limit with the risk of breaking, after which they needed to be repaired.

I turn blind if I use my Semblance too much, even faster if I use my eyes at the same time. Aura can reverse the damage without problem.

I knew that there was another, much more potent, aspect of our eyes, because Summer used those white flames, but she said that I couldn't use them yet because I wasn't strong enough. I had a feeling they could be of use against the Queen, but I didn't know if I was strong enough by this point, not to mention that I had no idea how to use them even if I was somehow strong enough… Summer left before she could teach it to me after all.

I shoved aside that bitter thought without a second of hesitation.

What I needed to do was clear to me, that didn't mean that it was anything remotely easy to accomplish. I had to reverse engineer and master those flames Summer used on my own, without any help while possibly lacking the strength to use them correctly, all in a single night at most.

Well, I've sought out challenges to overcome my entire life, why would I stop now?

The weird pressure in my eyes was a sign that something was there, close but just beyond my reach. If that was a sign of that hidden aspect, then it meant that I currently lacked the strength… But like any tool my eyes could be pushed past their limit, the only question was how? In broad terms Silver Eyes are fueled by love and desire, the light of the world manifested. How do you amplify something like that? Immaterial given power?

I turned another corner and stopped just shy of falling of an edge. It seemed like I arrived at my destination.

The Queen's chamber, or at least what was left of it, I mused and looked around the area. Before me laid a pit of enormous proportions, barely illuminated by the starry sky above. I kicked a pebble down below and a few seconds later the impact echoes reverberated through the open-air chamber, no doubt the work of the rampaging Titan outside. I could see countless other mining tunnels all around the circular cliffside, all of them ending abruptly with mangled tracks and blinking lights showing the devastation caused the Queen's departure. Following the path of destruction my gaze was inevitably drawn to the night sky where I saw a sea of stars twinkling and shining down at me-

* * *

"'Ryl, what are those?" Yang asked from beside me, scrunching her face to look upwards at the sky.

"They are stars, Yang," I responded easily and nudged the campfire before us with a stick. We were currently in the backyard, waiting for the adults to come back from the kitchen with the meat and veggies for our BBQ night.

I was allowed to watch over the fire in the meantime like the responsible person I was. I handled Dust and sharp, pointy objects like a pro by now, a little campfire was nothing.

"And what are they?" She asked further with the energy of an all-curious child, which she very much was. I hummed in thought and produced a knife form my bag with Wind and Gravity Dust in it.

"Hmm, think of stars like gigantic fireballs far away in the sky, like the explosions Mom and I use in our spars." While I wasn't an astronomy buff by any means, I did have a healthy interest in the subject back when I was little. I couldn't remember equations and exact physical processes if I even cared to learn any, but I could explain the general functioning of a few things.

"But they don't go away," she pointed out with a confused tilt of her head.

"You're right. That's because they are held back and kept stable. Watch." I inclined my head towards the campfire and threw the knife into it. The Gravity Dust in it activated and the orange flames instantly curved backwards to the ground, struggling to escape the pull of gravity. "Gravity holds the fire together, it compresses it and makes it more focused and brighter." In sync with my explanation the flames molded into a single half-sphere around the knife that glowed hotter and hotter as all the heat was focused in a smaller volume. Yang got closer to the eye-catching science experiment and let out mesmerized oohs. I was fairly sure that she wasn't even listening to me anymore, more enraptured by the magical sight before her. I rolled my eyes before deciding to double down on the eye-catching aspect of it.

I grabbed an indignant Yang by the scruff of her neck and pulled her back besides me. "Stars light up the world around them like nothing else, but when their fire gets focused and strong enough…" I activated the Wind Dust in the knife and we watched as the added fuel to the fire caused the flames to overcome gravity and soar high up in the sky and then recede back to their normal heights. "…They can make the biggest booms in the world," I finished with a satisfied smirk as we watched cinders fall around us.

Huh, this teaching thing isn't that bad… maybe when I retire-

A few floating cinders landed on a nearby tree, for a precious moment it seemed like nothing was going to come of it… only for the entire branch to catch on fire like it was drenched in gasoline in the next.

This occurred on three other trees at the same time.

…

…

Well, at least no adult was around to see it, I could probably put out the fires before-

"Caryll Rose!" Oh, for crying out loud!

* * *

"…Light up the world like nothing else, huh," I murmured as I looked at the twinkling stars up above. Granted, my explanation at the time was heavily censored to make it more understandable, but the use of an outside force as a catalyst sounded promising. I already felt some form of pressure inside my eyes that I could manipulate, it stood to reason to assume that an outside force could interact with it and push it beyond what was currently possible for me.

So, I had a potential method, but still no candidate for an outside force.

It was something to think about later, because I could already see several swirling masses of darkness detach form other larger groups and make their way to me. I jumped down into the chasm below and deftly landed on the bottom a few moments later, after that I hastily made my way to the middle of the chamber and took out several vials of Dust from my bag.

I had to hurry with enacting the plan, the Grimm would arrive soon and I still had to draw the glyph I would have had Nicholas cast. I unscrewed the corks on a handful of Earth Dust vials and poured them on the ground in a large circular pattern. The circle ended up big enough for me to lay down in, but before I could continue with the next step, a swarm of Iratuses appeared from nearby tunnels and freshly dug holes. My headache returned full force with their appearance and irritating chittering sounds.

Instead of fighting them, I took eight Ice Dust knives in hand and threw them in the ground in a large circle. The Dust activated on impact and formed a dome of ice around me and the half-complete glyph. The swarm reached the transparent crystal walls and tried to eat their way through them, without much success thanks to the natural hardness of Aura infused Dust ice. They might as well have been nibbling at solid steel-

A small crack appeared in the wall of ice before me and I could see several dark silhouettes moving to dig themselves under the dome through the stone.

…

With panic fueled movements I took hold of a handful of Ice Dust vials and slammed them into the ground, coating the ground beneath my feet in a layer of ice. Only the ground under the glyph remained untouched.

But before all the gaps could close, a single bug managed to eat its way through and make a lunge at me. It passed through me without resistance and impacted the ice dome with a muffled cracking sound and I warped it away into Kamui without even giving it the chance to recover.

With that distraction gone I returned to look at the work before me, let out a sigh, and went to finish it as soon as I could. The dome wouldn't last forever and the Grimm could still find the opening under the half-done glyph, not to mention the ever-worsening headache I got form being this close to so many of them. I could evaporate them with my eyes, but that would only gain me a few seconds before even more Grimm arrived and took their place. I had no delusions on what would last longer between my stamina and their numbers.

With the first stage of the glyph done, I poured Ice Dust in a ring shape on top of the edges of the previous circle, this would serve as the second layer. It barely took a minute for me to finish it and I could move on to the final layer, Gravity Dust. Technically it wasn't necessary, but with my disability I had to have some way of remote controlling the complete glyph. It was the smallest of the three, so it was done the quickest.

Now came the hard part.

What I've done so far was preparing the necessary amount of Dust in an optimal manner, now I had to make and control the glyph itself.

I gathered Aura in to the palm of my hand and brought it down in the middle of the Dust circle. The ground crystals lit up in their respective colors as my Aura interacted with them. I let out a suspenseful sigh and slowly lifted may hand off the ground. The glyph followed it at a short distance, slowly spinning clockwise, and the glowing particles slowly arranged themselves into distinct patterns, that is until the spinning stopped and the disk of particles fell back to the ground uselessly.

Not to be deterred I tried again with the same results. Another attempt led to another failure, as did the next and the one after that. When the disk fell apart for the umpteenth time I let out a growl of frustration and glared daggers at the pile of uncooperative Dust in front of me.

Casting required concentration, but my mind was focused on other, almost equally important matters, not to mention the cracking sounds of the ice and the maddening chittering of the Grimm were also very distracting.

This wasn't going to work; I couldn't cast glyphs like this.

I sighed, trying to let go of my rising irritation, and thought back to Nicholas' lessons. Hoping to remember something, anything that could help me with this predicament… He said that not everyone could cast glyphs and that making them was like art, what did he mean by that? That I needed to be creative or that I needed to incorporate emotions-?

My eyes widened as a stray idea occurred to me.

"No way… just no," I shook my head at the silly idea, there was no way that the two had any connection between them, no.

A loud crack and a not-so-small chunk of ice falling out of the wall made me reconsider my standpoint remarkably past.

"It's worth a shot at least…" I muttered and went to work. I placed the palm of my hand in the middle of the circle and then lifted it upwards along with the first layer. I closed my eyes and enacted my ridiculous plan.

…Take softened butter, brown and granulated sugar into a bowl and stir them until they form into a cream…

The Dust particles stabilized and spun lazily in the air in intricate patterns, not that I noticed with my eyes closed and mind elsewhere.

…Add an egg, flour, vanilla, baking soda and a bit of salt into the mix…

I lifted my hands even higher and the upper two layers separated from the first as one, just hovering below my palm. Soon their Dust particles arranged themselves into patterns too and only one step remained before the glyph was complete.

…Scoop the mix into shape and add chocolate chips…

The Gravity Dust layer separated from the Ice ring and moved even further from the ground.

I hesitantly opened my eyes and stared dumbstruck at the three-piece glyph hovering below my raised hand.

"I can't believe that actually worked…" I muttered with a bewildered expression. My idea was that many artists go into a special mindset when they work to increase their focus, a sort of tunnel vision. I… Me and Summer may have developed something similar when baking, and baking is a culinary art, soo…

I can't believe that this kind of silliness would save the lives of hundreds…

Somehow I get the feeling that if Summer saw me now, she would give me a thumb of approval. Raven on the other hand would bury her face in her hands and deny even knowing me.

Oh well, if it worked this far, then might as well finish it like this.

"Put them in the oven and wait until they're ready for serving" I declared with a grin and slammed my outstretched hand into the ground. The separate glyphs snapped into a single one and glowed brightly. For a brief moment nothing happened, then the combined glyph sunk into the ground, slowly at first, but as it travelled deeper and deeper it picked up speed until it was burrowing through the stone and different ores faster than any Grimm or machine could hope to match. Ice crystals grew to cover the sides of the perfectly circular tunnel as the glyph carved through any obstacle in its path. My armguards glowed with a familiar hue and gravity glyphs sprung to life above my palms. Violet strings formed between them and the violet portion of the speeding glyph, allowing me to direct it as I saw fit even from a distance.

"Now for part two," I muttered and channeled Aura to my eyes. The world below me came to life as I could pinpoint every single tunnel with Grimm present in them, there were hundreds, if not more.

With a simple tug on a string, a smaller glyph separated from the main one and burrowed itself to connect with one such tunnel. The glyph breached the walls of the infested shaft and flew to impact the opposite wall, creating a prism of ice on impact. With that trial run done, I separated dozens at the same time from the main glyph and guided them in batches to other tunnels, repeating this process hundreds of times until the main glyph breached the deepest part of the mine where the passengers were kept.

I inwardly cheered at pulling off such a complicated task and got to my feet. I ignored the crumbling ice dome around me and looked straight down at the bore hole I just created. Unlike the ice around me that was transparent, the ice coating the sides of the tunnel was immaculate and almost completely reflective, perfect for what I had planned.

I may not have had the stamina to vaporize this many Grimm separately one after the other, but all of them at once?

That I could do.

I flashed my eyes and the Grimm around me in the Queen's chamber turned to ashes. The abundance of light got reflected downwards by the ice in the tunnel and bounced between the mirror-like surfaces like the light in an optical cable. This light separated into different branches upon encountering an intersection and eventually got directed to every single infested tunnel in the entire mine. Once they exited the ice mirror tunnels they hit the prism on the other end and got scattered in all directions. Masses of darkness started disappearing one after the other as the light spread until even the largest one at the bottom vanished without a trace, revealing a large mass of different colored light sources in its place.

I let out a relieved sigh and broke out into a victorious smile, it actually worked! I allowed myself to revel in the silence for a few moments, enjoying the not so small victory for what it was, and then hopped down into the ice mirror tunnel myself. It took almost a full half a minute of freefalling, but I eventually reached the bottom. I took two knives in hand and stabbed them into the walls of the tunnel in an effort to bleed off momentum, when I felt slow enough I let go and landed on the bottom floor with a dull thud. Lights were blinking in and out overhead and rusted machinery were scattered around, but the most defining feature of the place was the disturbingly organized way in which bodies were placed alongside one another in rows.

Judging by their slowly increasing Aura and the still light tinge of copper in the air; I've arrived in time. I've moved from unconscious person to person, wincing at the numerous bite marks present on each and every person, but ultimately looking for a particular person. It took me a minute, but I did eventually find the familiar purple Aura signature.

I rounded the corner of a scrap-worthy excavator and was greeted with a sight that made my heart skip a beat. There lied the small form of Blake on the cold ground, injured and bleeding from the countless bitemarks on her body. Tears gathered in my eyes and I rushed to her side, she was alive but unconscious, thank goodness. I didn't know if it was from the shock and pain or the Queen just knocked out everyone with its presence, but I was hoping she would remember as little about this night as possible.

Children shouldn't have to experience getting attacked, they shouldn't have to watch others get taken right in front of their eyes, they shouldn't have to experience getting fed on by horrific creatures while unable to do anything but watch and feel as their life was slowly sucked out of them. It was just wrong… so wrong. The fact that it happened stood against everything I strived for…

And all of it was my fault.

Tears fell down my cheeks as I propped up Blake's head against my legs. The scars this could leave on her could very well last for her entire life, both physical and mental. The bitemarks wouldn't heal completely without Aura and who knows how the trauma of almost getting killed would affect her later in life? I might have ruined her future in some way because of this.

A feeling of self-loathing washed over me even as I moved the wipe away the bloodstains on her face with the fabric of my cloak. I've only made one decision and this was the result? A decision between personal love and the obligations tied to my dream. How could anyone see what the right choice was? One choice would have ensured the safety of hundreds, but further jeopardize the survival chances of Summer, while the other increased her chances, but ultimately led to… this.

How could I have made another choice and bear to look myself in the mirror, knowing that if Summer was really gone in the end, I didn't do everything I could to save her. How could I tell Ruby and Yang with a straight face that I did my best to prevent them from having to grow up without a mom?

I would be a bold-faced liar, a hypocrite, human trash…

I sniffled but didn't have the will to wipe away the snot or the freely flowing tears. Summer could have seen what the right choice was, I was sure of it. She may not have been the smartest person I've met, but her moral compass was unwavering even in the face of adversity. If she was by my side right now like she promised she would be, maybe I would have known… better…

The third reason.

I blinked at the sudden revelation, floored at the connection between the two dilemmas. I stared ahead with a vacant expression in the dimly lit tunnel for what felt like minutes.

"Nicholas, you senile old reindeer," I muttered finally and moved to wipe away the abundance of tears on my cheeks. Once I was done with that I softly looked down at Blake, her expression was troubled, as if she was having a nightmare.

"I know this might not be enough to right the wrongs you suffered because of my mistake…" I closed my eyes and willed my Aura to search for hers. "For it is through hardship and love that we get to know ourselves. Through these we become architects of fate to shape our world and others around us. Infinite in desire and unbound by reality, I release your soul and by my hand guide you from the shadows," I chanted quietly as my silvery Aura mixed with hers and caused it to appear like violet waves rippling over her form.

"…But it is a start," I finished with a sniffle and a small smile. I couldn't be there for her as of now and help her get through this, but her wounds could be fully healed with-

Aura…

I let out a humorless chuckle at the second revelation that happened to me in only a single night. Blake's previously wry expression eased just a bit, but that was enough for me let out a relieved sigh and contently move on to the next fight of the night. I made two of my spare cloaks appear before me and took one to cover her, it was cold and damp down here. I moved my legs away and placed the other folded cloak under her head, with that done I stood up and called out for Zwei. The young corgi appeared besides me a few seconds later with an attentive bark and a lolling tongue.

"Get ready buddy, this night is far from over." I bent down to his level and held out my hand to him. My small partner bit down on it and I could feel my reserves getting back up to full. I would need every single ounce of it for what I'd planned next.

* * *

His knight was dwarfed by the Grimm before it, but he did his best to provide an even fight. He parried a strike from one of the Queen's legs and bashed its face with the shield on his arm. The Grimm was sent back reeling from the force and was flipped on its back. Seeing the opportunity present itself, Nicholas went in for the kill by closing the distance between him and the Queen. He then raised his sword and prepared to stab it through its exposed belly.

He noticed the trap for what it was a second too late. Before he could deliver the killing blow, his blade was intercepted by one of the legs and was deflected to the side. A moment later the Iratus' tail slithered behind him and drove its stinger through his knight's chest, ending him.

After his knight's demise, his consciousness returned to his body and he wearily observed the ruined landscape their battle created form the back of his summoned Wyvern. Great columns of smoke rose from still burning swathes of forest, miles of land was flattened under the Queen's rampage and multiple mountains were carved up. By this point he was at his Aura's and wit's end. The best he could hope was perhaps another five to ten minutes before his reserves ran dry-

He is interrupted by the Queen's shrill roar. He looked back down at it to see the eyes on its back open and glare in his direction. He felt the effect immediately, it was too fast to even attempt a counteraction, or perhaps his aging body was giving up on him finally. Regardless, he could feel his muscles slacken and his summon dissipate from under him. He fell towards the distant ground for what felt like an eternity and impacted it with a dull thud. His Aura held strong, but it still wouldn't change his fate, he landed just before the beast he had been fighting until now.

This is how his legend would end, an Old Hunter of many battles slain by an even older beast of darkness. The Queen lifted one of its front legs and dropped it on top of him with enough force to send up a screen of dust and debris around the area.

…

Or perhaps not. Nicholas looked perplexedly around his new surroundings. He was on a nearby mountain overlooking the destroyed valley and the victorious Titan. He was not alone as he saw his Apprentice standing slightly to his left, overlooking the same scene with a look of determination that surprised Nicholas. His cloak fluttered lightly in the wind present at this altitude and he had a commanding aura around him that Nicholas was sure wasn't there before.

"Looks like I arrived just in time," Caryll turned his head in his direction and smirked confidently. Nicholas shook off his shock and frowned at his student in response.

"Not that I don't appreciate your intervention, but I distinctly remember telling you to leave and rescue who you can." Returning here was an act of suicide, nothing more.

"Perhaps, but I have a point to prove and an old man to help out," Caryll shrugged and inclined his head to the side. "Besides, Zwei is ferrying the injured back to Vale as we speak." He then returned his attention ahead and glared at the titanic beast down below. Nicholas followed his gaze and a moment later pieced together Caryll's intentions. He couldn't help but feel incredulous at the notion.

"You're planning on fighting a Titan," he voiced his disbelief. Caryll didn't respond immediately and instead walked to the edge of their plateau.

"No," the young Rose denied with a shake of his head. He closed his eyes and seemed to focus on something else entirely.

"I'm planning on killing one."

He snapped his eyes open and the valley before them was lit up by a huge source of blinding white light.

* * *

Aura.

It was so obvious of a solution that I would have smacked myself in the head if I wasn't so short on time. The Silver Eyes acted as a mirror in the sense that they utilized the light of world around the user to counteract the darkness. It was immaterial and abstract, to contain something like it you had to use something equally as abstract, either light or darkness.

Aura was the light of the soul, and unlike the ethereal light of the Silver Eyes it behaved like a liquid or as a shroud inside the body. When used correctly it could be molded into solid barriers used to protect from harm…

Or to contain something.

I focused a large chunk of my Aura around my eyes, coating them in a sheet of silvery light, and built up pressure inside my eyes just like I would every other time I would use my eyes. Once the pressure reached a level that I could just barely contain, I released it just like I would normally, but instead of basking the valley before me in blinding light, the wave of light rebounded from the layer of Aura and returned inside where it struggled to find a way to escape.

Elated at this new development, I pushed even more Aura inside my eyes and felt the two forces struggle to overcome the other. I continued to compress the light with my Aura while simultaneously trying to focus even more light to manifest until something just snapped and I could feel the light instantly push back my Aura to the edges of my eyes. By this point the pressure was simply impossible for me to contain and I snapped my eyes open, staring straight at the Iratus Queen down below.

A white speck of light appeared on the back of the Titan, it glowed faintly for a moment before silvery white flames burst from it. The flames spread over a large area in under a second and burned with such ferocity that they soon dwarfed even the largest trees in the area. The light they produced cast shadows all over the valley and caused the black skin of the Grimm to sizzle as if it was in a frying pan. The area around the ethereal flames rapidly turned to stone, but even that crumbled to dust to be carried away by the wind. The Iratus Queen let out an unprecedented shriek of pain and thrashed around the valley, crashing into mountains and foliage in a desperate effort to put out the flames.

It was truly an awe-inspiring sight, if only I was upright to see it and not face first on the ground, eating dirt. My head was swimming in pain and it was hard for me to focus on anything, despite this I knew one thing for sure.

No Ruby, you shouldn't use your eyes like laser beams, it's unhealthy and you'll just hate yourself for even thinking about it.

"That has got to be the most wasteful application of Silver Eyes I have ever witnessed," I could hear Nicholas dryly remark from beside me once my headache subsided a bit.

"Ugh, I've noticed. These things don't come with a built-in instruction manual you know, I'm figuring out things as I go," I groaned painfully and opened my eyes, only to notice something strange; I could see the world just like when I normally infused Aura into my eyes, it was probably a byproduct of the method I used, however there was something odd around the edges of my vision.

It was white and… moved around like fire?

I lifted a hand to my eyes and felt something stick to my fingers. I moved my hand away a bit and found myself speechless at the sight of those same silvery white flames dancing across my palm. It wasn't hot, it wasn't even warm, it was cold and seemingly completely harmless. They even disappeared on their own when I thought about how to make them go away. I blinked perplexedly and took out a knife to look at my reflection, what I saw only added to my shock and amazement; the same ethereal flames were present around my eyes, harmlessly dancing around them in a manner not too dissimilar to how Maidens showcased their power.

Was this it? Did I unlock the full potential of the Silver Eyes…? But even if I did, I couldn't use them properly, judging by the backlash I suffered, using them in a sight-and-cast way is a big no-no, but if that was the case, what was the correct way? There was no time to experiment around and there was no one who could teach me-

I sprung to my feet and hastily turned to look at Nicholas. "Wait, you said witness. Do you remember how my great-grandfather used these flames?" The older Hunter hummed to himself and shrugged.

"Hmm, not like this, that's for sure. I remember him coating weapons in flames, but that was only in the beginning. Later on, he would only conjure weapons out of white flames, they were extremely effective against Grimm, even far surpassing a regular flash of his eyes," he explained thoughtfully. I nodded to myself and stared at my open palm, trying to imagine something simple, a sword would do for now. Using the same method, I Ignited the air above my palm, but to my dismay the fire refused to obey my command to spread in a certain way and instead dissipated just like my Aura does when it leaves my body.

"…That's beyond me at the moment," I admitted wryly, theoretically I could maybe use the same method of using Aura to contain and shape the flames using Aura projection, but my disability prevented me from even attempting that. "However, coating weapons shouldn't be an issue," I confirmed with a nod, the fire coated my hand without problem, and that was without me even consciously trying to mold it.

"Worry not, it still seems to have a great effect on the Queen regardless," Nicholas nodded in the direction of the valley, following his sight I was greeted with a scene that caused most of my confidence to evaporate. The tendrils of darkness gathered around the raging bonfire, trying to envelop and smolder it while the stone slowly turned back to black flesh and white bone. It was a close and fierce fight between the two forces, but it was obvious that the darkness would win out eventually.

"It can survive even that?" I observed disbelievingly, mouth agape. That attack had me pushing past my limits and I almost knocked myself out with it, and it was still not enough?!

"Yes, but your flames can tie down its regenerative ability long enough to take it entirely out of the equation. I can't believe I'm saying this, but this fight isn't as hopeless as I first thought it to be… How many times do you think you can use your eyes after this?" Nicholas observed thoughtfully before he turned to regard me with wide eyes. I stared at him in momentary surprise, not having expected that tone form him as he was usually more reserved and drier with his words, but determination replaced surprise as I caught on to his intentions.

"As many times as we need," I confirmed with a confident nod, I wouldn't be the limiting factor in this fight. A Kamui vortex deposited a recurve bow specifically designed to be fired by Hunters alongside a fully stocked quicker. I caught them mid-air and put the quiver on my back. "Alright, let's take this thing down."

"You have a plan in mind already?" My teacher asked in slight surprise, though I could tell that he was getting used to my way of planning.

"I've been told I'm quick on the uptake. One on one didn't work, so we'll try two on one instead," I shot back with a smirk, earning an amused scoff from him. I took out an arrow form my quiver and aimed it in the direction of the recovering Queen, which was slowly coming to its senses. At this range throwing knives would be useless, arrows on the other hand…

I Ignited the notched arrow and watched as the white flames spread all over it, for some reason this Ignition wasn't nearly as draining as the previous one. It was something I had to look into later alongside other technicalities, but for now I allowed a nostalgic smile to spread over my face.

Who would have guessed learning archery was going to come in handy after all?

Huh, a good Hunter really is versatile… Thank you, Summer.

"Could you give me a boost?" I requested without looking at Nicholas. He complied without a word and several white glyphs appeared along the shaft of the arrow. I took aim at the recovered Iratus Queen, but instead of launching the arrow directly at it, I shifted my aim at the sky above us and fired. The glyphs accelerated the arrow to the point where it became only a white streak of light to the naked eye as it sailed through the clouds and joined the sea of stars hanging above us in the night sky. The old Schnee sent me a questioning look to which I simply shrugged with an easy smile.

"A bit of insurance for later," I explained and took out eight specialty knives from my bag while stowing away the bow on my back. I Ignited all of them at the same time and approached the edge of the cliff. "Get ready, I'll create an opening for you." The Titan finally sighted us and rushed towards our position. I prepared to warp myself away, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"Then do it properly this time," Nicholas told me and casted a yellow glyph beneath our feet. It took on the form of turning gears and the arms of a clock… it was a time dilation glyph. The world around us slowed down considerably and I could even see the afterimages of the flames dancing on the blades of my knives. It was simply breathtaking, but Nicholas wasn't done. White glyphs appeared out of thin air ahead of us, dozens and then hundreds of them formed into an ever-growing curving path that led to the rampaging beast down below. I spared a quick glance at Nicholas, who nodded back at me. I grinned at him in thanks and blurred to the nearest glyph.

The moment my feet touched the white circle I was accelerated to the next one with enough force that I left behind white streaks along my path. I reached the bottom of the valley in a few moments and caught up with the end of the rapidly forming path ahead of me. I twisted around upturned trees, craters and house sized boulders until I reached the vicinity of the looming Titan. It lifted one of its front legs and brought it down along the projected path of the glyphs in an effort to crush me. The appendage fell on top my head and disrupted several glyphs, but it was not enough to stop me. I emerged from the leg's other side without a scratch and continued on with my charge until I reached its other front leg.

Once I got close enough to it, I jumped in the air from the last glyph and just before I could pass by it, threw a single burning knife at it. The knife hit true and white flames burst outwards form the impact point. It was a lot smaller fire than the one I used previously, but it was already turning a large portion of the lower leg into stone.

Besides, I was nowhere near done with my attack.

Another white glyph formed along my flight path and I hit it feet first. It launched me back in another, slightly higher trajectory around the colossal leg and let me throw another knife, causing another eruption of fire. I repeated this process six more times in the span of a scarce few seconds, the glyphs redirecting me higher and higher until I could ignite the entire front leg of the Queen.

After that display, I landed back on the muddy ground with a grunt of exertion and regarded my work. The tendrils were already fighting to contain the spread of the flames, covering burning chunks of flesh and burying the fire to put it out even faster. It was only a matter of time before the limb would be unpetrified.

Too bad I wouldn't wait for that long.

I sent a mental command to the Dust in the knives and watched as they activated in unison. Lighting Dust melted the stone and allowed the knives to sink deeper into the stone, where the Sonic Dust crystals activated and caused a mini earthquake in the burning monolith. Cracks formed a crisscrossing pattern around it and before too long, the pillar of stone fell apart in a shower of rocks and dust. I had the pleasure of watching it at a much faster pace as the backlash of time dilation finally caught up to me.

The Titan recoiled at the loss of one of its many legs and turned its attention back at me. It growled and moved to swat at me with its other frontal leg, however as it prepared to strike me down a spinning white glyph hit one of its joints and held the entire thing in place for Nicholas' knight to jump in and dismember it.

Seeing that the tendrils were already forming around the wound to regrow the lost limb, I removed my bow from my back and notched and Ignited an arrow. I momentarily warped myself in front of the exposed innards of the Grimm and launched the burning arrow at the swirling darkness. It hit true and the struggle of light and dark began once again, halting the regeneration process in its entirety for the time being.

The Iratus Queen took the loss of its two most useful weapons with around as much tact as I expected. It retreated several gigantic steps in an effort to put some distance between us, but we didn't let up and continued to pursue it without pause. Distance meant nothing to me and Nicholas was flying overhead again, after all.

This turned out to be a mistake however, the Titan was far from disarmed, in fact it just chose to utilize its most effective weapon. The eyes on its back reopened and I dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. With me disabled, the Queen could focus its attention on the knight, it raised its stinger and drove it through the knight's raised shield and body, forcing the summon to dispel in a cloud of white particles.

With Nicholas dispatched for the time being, the Titan turned its attention back to me and worked its mouth to produce a black sticky substance. I wasn't particularly worried about this however, my mind was somewhere else at the moment, thinking about more pressing matters.

What should Nicholas' and I's team attack be called?

As if on cue, a star up above shined brighter than the rest for a brief moment, then it came down from the sky like a comet. It soared through the night sky and hit the Iratus Queen dead center. The collision produced an enormous white fireball and interrupted the freezing effect on me, allowing me to warp myself away to Nicholas' Wyvern up above.

Hmm, Shooting Star seemed fitting.

"How was that for round one?" I asked Nicholas with a smirk, with the Queen being preoccupied with putting out the flames we could afford to reconvene and strategize.

"Promising so far, how are you holding up?" He replied, eyes still focused on the Titan below us.

"I'm a bit exhausted, but I'll manage. You?" I let out a tired sigh and wiped away the streaks of blood on my face. Using my eyes in this matter drained me more than I cared to admit, I felt like I was still on that same tree back when I first unlocked my eyes. Weak and uncertain if I was even doing things correctly, but I would manage one way or the other.

"…Well enough to continue," he replied after a moment of pause. "We'll have to end this soon, the Queen is only growing stronger with time, we on the other hand…" He coughed dryly into his hand for emphasis.

"What do you mean?" That was new information to me, from my standpoint we just performed a double amputation on it.

"That freezing attack, it uses it more and more. I was wondering why the attack on the train stopped when it did, but while I was fighting it, I realized that as time passed it could maintain it for longer and longer periods of time, all the while the time intervals between attacks shortened," Nicholas explained with a thoughtful frown.

"But why? How?" How could it evolve so much in the span of only a single night, while fighting no less?

"Titans perceive time differently, they sleep for centuries at a time and can fight for just as long, but as a result they are slow to adapt to changes. My guess is that this one only just woke up and is in the process of regaining its past strength, but I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, if the time intervals shorten like before and the effects last longer each time…" He trailed off uncertainly, causing a foreboding feeling to appear between us.

"It could eventually freeze us indefinitely," I finished distraughtly. Titans really did deserve the top spot on the food chain, didn't they? If this one appeared in the kingdom proper it could just disable every living thing in a radius of miles while it destroyed everything in sight. "Then we don't have much time left," I concluded briskly.

"Minutes at best, half a minute until the next attack to be exact." I regarded the older Hunter with a surprised expression. "What is it? I may be on death's door, but I wasn't sitting idle while you were away. Fighting nightmarish beasts my whole life taught me to be observant," he told me amusedly.

"I guess you're right about that," I chuckled and backed away to the edge of our ride. "When you see the opportunity; go for the head!" I relayed my idea to my teacher and fell off the flying Grimm summon. I twisted mid-air to look at the now fully healed Titan and took out several Lightning and Inferno knives in preparation.

"25…" I muttered under my breath and warped myself on top of the Titan, right between its many closed eyes. Without hesitation, I threw a Lighting knife at the closest one and watched as it was enveloped in arcs electricity. The muscles convulsed involuntarily and exposed the undefended eyeball for me to throw an Inferno knife at it. The explosive detonated on contact and sent black goo flying in all directions.

The overgrown bug didn't like that and let out a deafening roar, that left me clutching the sides of my head. I wasn't allowed reprieve and black tendrils burst forward from the wound to mend it. Feeling movement under my feet, I jumped away before even more tendrils could appear where I stood. This time they moved to follow me, most likely to either strangle or bury me.

"20…" I wasn't about to allow that to happen turned to run in the opposite direction, throwing pairs of Lightning and Inferno knives at eyes as I passed by them. Soon I reached the edge of the maze of eyes with a wave of dark tendrils behind my heels.

Thankfully, Nicholas used the distraction I provided to summon another knight just in front of the Queen's head. The knight moved to impale its head on its sword, but a freshly regrown frontal leg took the attack instead. Momentum carried the amputated leg into the air and the knight used its shield to block a retaliatory strike form another stake-like leg, though the force behind it forced the summon to skid back a fair distance.

"15…" Not willing to let this opportunity go to waste, I unholstered my bow and warped myself after the still ascending and slowly evaporating appendage. I reappeared just a bit above it and fired several Ignited arrows at it in rapid succession. Several missed to my frustration, my vision was getting blurry from my reliance on Kamui, but enough hit to set the fading limb ablaze and turn it into solid stone. To Nicholas' credit, he figured out my intentions remarkably fast and a huge Earth Dust glyph materialized in the leg's flight path. Now with the means to completely control the impromptu stone spear, Nicholas stopped it mid-air and reoriented it to point towards the Iratus Queen. Said Titan roared challengingly in response and bared its fangs at us. We didn't wait for it to finish its intimidation tactic and launched the spear at its head.

It impacted its face with enough force to disfigure more than half of it and embed itself deep into its innards. The force behind the attack and pain sent the Queen a few steps back and left it in a stunned daze.

"10!" I noted cheerily and moved in to assist Nicholas' knight to deal a finishing blow. However, before we even got into striking distance, the eyes on its back snapped open without warning, but thanks to the damage I've done to some of them, I got a split-second delay before the freezing effect took hold.

The knight froze in place alongside Nicholas, leaving enough time for the Queen to recollect itself and move to strike down the vulnerable knight. Fortunately, that split-second was enough for me to move to my Time-Space and be completely unaffected by the attack and now I could return to the real world, right beside one of its many open eyes.

"Too slow!" I flashed my own eyes before I could be disabled and basked the surrounding area in blinding white light. My intervention ended the freezing effect and sent the Queen reeling away. I warped myself away to the ground before the tendrils could find and attack me and joined the knight's second attempt at dealing a death blow. This time though instead of helping with the setup, I decided to assist in a more direct manner.

I notched another arrow and aimed it at the injured face of the Queen. I waited until the knight summon got close enough to strike and just before it could raise its sword, I fired the blazing arrow with a confident smirk.

The Queen only had one frontal leg left to defend with and doing a two-pronged attack from different angles meant that it could only defend against one strike, not the other. The longsword would skewer it and my arrow would incinerate its head, whichever it chose to defend against didn't matter, because it would die from the other either way.

We won…

I allowed a smirk of satisfaction to form on my face as I watched the arrow sail through the air and fly by the knight's descending blade, right on a course to its open maw… only to be intercepted by a stake like leg just before it could impact. The Titan roared in defiance and dodged the sword strike by jumping backwards and shattered the knight's shield with a swing of its tail.

Confusion and desperation replaced elation in me as the Queen then used its stinger to strike its own burning leg by its connecting joint, amputating the still igniting limb and then using its tail to sweep at the destroyed forest before it, sending up debris and dust into the air to act as a smoke screen while it recovered.

I stood there, stunned by the intelligence displayed by the Grimm before us. The momentary pause allowed me to look past the adrenaline surging in my veins and experience the effects of non-stop fighting during the whole night. Even with Zwei recharging my reserves, my body was on its last legs. My Aura was at half strength and it was a struggle to even keep my eyes open at this point. My arms and legs felt like they were filled with lead and my muscles screamed at me in protest every time I tried to move them.

I couldn't go on like this…

A white Wyvern landed beside me and Nicholas jumped down next to me, but even he almost messed up his landing by almost falling over. He had to use the summon for support to stand steadily.

"We're running out of time," he rasped through labored breaths. "The intervals get shorter even faster than I thought… this may be our last chance" He turned to look at the swirling dust cloud with hard eyes.

"Yeah…" I nodded distractedly; this was hopeless. It was too massive to kill in such a short time, my flames could hurt it, kill it too, maybe, but they don't spread fast enough to kill it before the regeneration kicked in and counteracted them. It was also too smart to fall for the same moves twice, and the way it fought…

It was like it wasn't even a Grimm, but something else entirely.

What could we even do against something so far out of our league?

…

"Nothing. We don't need to do anything against it," I muttered with widened eyes as an idea occurred to me, it would be risky and we only had one shot to make it work, but that's all we needed.

"Are you ready for another round?" I asked Nicholas with a growing smile on my face, internally placing even more pieces of the puzzle together.

"You have an idea?" At seeing my brisk nod, he turned to stare at the ground for a moment, shoulders sagging in exhaustion. "One final round, huh? Very well, let's end this," the old man let out a tired chuckle.

"Great, we don't have much time, so please do as I say and just don't question anything," I requested and took off the quiver from my back and Ignited every single last arrow in it at once, draining me even more to the point where I almost fell over on the spot.

"What do you need me to do?" My teacher nodded without hesitation.

"Dispel every one of your summons and give me a boost, please," I said and aimed three arrows at once at the sky. The giant knight and Wyvern faded away and glyphs appeared along the shafts of the arrows, ready to repeat our earlier attack.

I let go of the string and didn't bother to watch them fly in seemingly random directions in the sky, opting to instead ready even more arrows to fire non-stop. The white streaks of light raced to the clouds above, but before they could reach them the arrows detonated in a spectacular light show. Ignited Ice and Earth Dust exploded like fireworks, showering the landscape with burning debris. Fire and Gravity Dust caused miniature silver suns to appear and burn out in seconds, basking everything with their light and finally Lightning Dust caused silver arcs of electricity to travel from cloud to cloud.

It was a breathtaking sight, and a completely useless one at first glance, but if I was right, it could earn us victory. The idea came from our team attack with Summer; Guiding Light. This was only a massively upscaled version of it.

The Iratus Queen had intelligence that put any other Grimm to shame, it was in a league of its own. But it was still a Grimm. Darkness and negativity attracts it and Light and positivity enrages it. By basking the entire battlefield in the brightest light there is, we could make the Queen abandon its senses and make it follow its primal instincts.

If it was in another league, we just simply had to drag it down to our level.

As if on cue, an all too familiar shriek reverberated through the debris cloud, a gigantic silhouette formed in it and looked around frantically, as if torn between what it should obliterate first.

"Now summon your knight! Give it everything you've got!" I commanded and Nicholas obeyed without pause. With a grunt of exertion, Nicholas drove his cane into the ground and an enormous summoning glyph appeared before us. Soon, a familiar knight crawled out of it, but this time a set of legs supported it as it moved to a ready stance before us. It was still dwarfed by the Grimm Titan and it looked to have taken a toll on my old mentor, but thankfully we didn't need to rely on its combat abilities.

All Grimm are compelled to extinguish the nearest source of light near them, with the explosions happening in the sky the next brightest source of light is Nicholas' summon.

"Dispel the sword and shield, appear as non-threatening as possible." I narrowed my eyes as we entered the riskiest part of the plan, if this went sideways we were done for. The armaments faded away to white particles and the knight moved to stand at attention like a monolith of white and blue light.

We didn't have to wait long for the shrieks and sounds of stomping to come closer. The blurry silhouette burst from the cloud and revealed itself to be the fully healed mad Titan. It caught sight of us and the defenseless knight and shifted its body in preparation to lunge at us.

I didn't get stung while I was frozen for the first time, and the passengers presumably only got stung after the Queen was forced to stop with its attack, Iratuses only fought and stung things that could resist being fed on. What's more the Queen only focused on killing us until now, with its basic instincts in control it only wanted to do one thing.

To feed.

The Titan launched itself at the largest source of Aura in a radius of hundreds of miles and wrapped multiple of its legs around it. The Grimm bared its massive fangs for all to see and drove them into the neck of the still summon. The Schnee summon visibly faded a few shades as Aura could be seen travelling through its body into the fangs of the Grimm.

"Don't let up! It's almost over!" I yelled encouragingly to my teacher, who was visibly struggling to pour enough Aura to keep the summon alive for a little while longer. I threw my bow and empty quiver to the side and spotted my opportunity to finish this fight. I warped myself on top of the Queen's tail that was looming over everything else and looked down at my target.

The slit on its back opened up as the procreation process began and revealed an enormous cavern inside the creature, filled with tens of thousands of newborn Iratuses struggling to find a way out of their cradle.

It's a shame their entire species would disappear again tonight.

The walls of the cavern were slimy and unarmored, unlike the exoskeleton outside. Perfect to set fire to. However, my previous attempts showed that arrows and knives wouldn't cut it, I would need something absolute.

I would have to use the method I used the first time.

So, what if it was wasteful or not how my distant relatives used it once upon a time? That just means that I would have to be the first one to make it work.

With that thought I adjusted my wobbly stance and took a deep breath. The flames around my right eye disappeared and I focused every last ounce of Aura I had left into it, all the while maintaining the field around the left one.

I gazed down at the abyss and opened an outbound Kamui portal in its direction. The vortex of space itself swirled faster and grew in size with every passing second until it reached a size I have never attempted before. It was not without cost though, I could feel something wet and warm flow down in droves on the right side of my face, I couldn't maintain this for long…

With that in mind, I focused on a single point a few meters in front of me, right in the middle of the emerging vortex, and willed a speck of light to appear there with my left eye.

The speck lingered there for a moment before it erupted into silver flames that were captured by the currents of the vortex. The portal forced them to spread around a large area until the entire vortex turned into a swirling mass of flames, headed right for the exposed back of the Queen.

The flames made contact and instantly converted the birthing cradle into sea of flames. The smaller Grimm only seemed to serve as fuel to the fire as they were instantly incinerated and the flames rapidly grew to cover the entire back of the Queen. The eyes that were previously full of hatred and intelligence now only had a look of primal desperation for survival in them. The tendrils moved to counteract the flames, but they were too powerful and spread out to contain, when a tendril tried to get close it would only get petrified alongside everything else.

I only cut off the portal when my Aura depleted and shattered around me. I swayed from side to side in exhaustion, but forced my body to stand and watch the fires consume everything with a half-smile, even as the right side of my vision blacked out completely.

It… actually worked. We've done it, I stared glassily at the air before me and the fire around my left eye cut off as well. Before I knew it, my legs gave out under me and I fell face first into the bone plating of the tail. Judging from the cracking sound and pain; I would say that I just broke my nose.

The Titan below me moved to separate from the fading knight and stumbled around in a disoriented manner, trying to find a way to put out the fire that was rapidly enveloping more and more of its body. Unfortunately these death throes launched me into the air and without any Aura I couldn't warp myself away to safety, all I could do was limply fall towards the ground and watch the beast let out a final pained shriek and collapse to the ground, finally succumbing to the flames consuming its form.

Someone was watching out for me though, because I could feel something circular collide with my back and change my trajectory while bleeding off a bit of my momentum. The thing broke however and shattered into black pieces that fell with me onwards until I hit another circle that did the same and so on until I reached the level of tree canopies.

I impacted the ground with a muffled thud and a grunt of pain, but thankfully the gravity glyphs have slowed me down enough to land without serious injuries. I painfully turned my head in the direction of Nicholas to thank him, but stopped when I saw him wobbling away to the base of an intact tree. He sat down unceremoniously at its base and stared off in the distance, chest rising and falling unsteadily.

I frowned at the sight; shouldn't his Aura keep him stable-

"Give it everything you've got…" I mumbled to myself, remaining functioning eye softening. The only thing that kept him alive so far was his Aura and he used every ounce of it to make the knight and to save me.

I looked at him for a few moments before I pushed myself to my feet with a groan of exertion. I felt light-headed, but I forced my feet to carry me in his direction. My gait was unsteady and I stumbled left and right until I accidentally overcorrected one of my missed steps and fell face first into the mud in front of Nicholas. I breathed heavily, my body demanding that I close my eyes and rest, but I was not done yet.

"You know, I could probably take you to a hospital…" I offered weakly. I turned my head to look at him with one eye. He was still looking past me with a peaceful expression, even while his chest was flaring.

"Heh, look at you, can't even muster the energy to stand up from the dirt and you're still trying to help me?" Nicholas huffed in amusement.

"That's just how I am, I guess," I chuckled softly. "But I meant what I said, you don't have to die here, I could call Zwei and-" I reasoned, only for Nicholas to cut me off.

"I've made my peace long ago, Caryll," he rebuked without missing a beat. "Although… can you take me to Atlas? To Mantle?" He asked with hope tinging his voice.

"Sorry, that's beyond me right now…" I looked at the ground with shame. I was so helpless I couldn't even grant a man's final wish.

"A pity… I would have liked to see the snow one more- " the sentence died in his throat and he just sat there with cane in hand, expression filled with awe. I frowned, not knowing what was going on, when something small and white entered my field of vision and landed in the mud before my face. I narrowed my eye at it and blinked in confusion when I realized what it was.

A grey piece of ash that was still burning with a white flame, giving it the look of a snowflake.

Glowing white ash began to fall all around me and when I realized that it was coming from behind me, I turned over and let out a silent gasp of amazement.

The petrified corpse of the Iratus Queen was burning in a bonfire of pure white. It was slowly crumbling into ashes, limb by limb, but there was simply so much to burn that it would take hours if not days for it to completely disappear. The produced Grimm ash flew high into the skies before it came back down like a mild snowfall, showering the remnants of the forest with ethereal snowflakes.

Looks like I could deliver on that wish after all…

I smiled and gathered all of my strength into my arms. I pushed myself up from the ground and stumbled over to the same tree Nicholas chose to sit by. I slacked against the bark and slid down beside Nicholas on the ground. We sat there for a few moments, just looking over the forest with a sense of pride and satisfaction.

"I think I figured it out, you know, the third reason," I spoke up, knowing that we didn't have much time left.

"Oh, you did? Well then, let's hear it…" Nicholas said quietly.

"You said that I was talented and show promise, that I could surpass all of you with time." My eyes drooped low. "But I'm still fallible, I think of myself, I disregard logic in favor of feelings, I make mistakes… I'm still human," I nodded to myself.

"I was told that our dearest dreams may become our worst nightmares… and that our dreams of a better future often become the nightmares of others… I didn't think on these words that much at the time, because I couldn't understand why someone wouldn't want the world to be a better place, least of all myself, but now I realize that these aren't warnings against the idea itself, but against methods I use to reach it…" I yawned, trying to fight off my exhaustion for a little while longer.

"I can't do this alone… I need someone to support me, to question and guide me, otherwise I'll never achieve what I want. Team ASHE was a group of kindred spirits, together they'd done so much for Remnant, but when Gehrman was left on his own, he didn't have anyone to question or support him. He made all the wrong decisions and everyone suffered for it. Now it happened to me and I almost caused the deaths of hundreds…" I frowned distastefully.

"But?" Nicholas prompted with a tired smile.

"…But they have to share the same drive that we have. You left the SDC in the hands of your first student, trusting him to carry on in your stead, but instead he warped your dream for his own selfish desires," I continued with a distracted expression. "The third reason why you took me as your student is that you realized that I was like you, that we had a similar mindset and goals. You wanted to question me, guide me and… help me," I finished quietly and turned back to my mentor.

"So, you have it all figured out, huh?" Nicholas hummed amusedly and nodded, confirming my theory. "Now, I have nothing left to teach you… it is strange, I never believed that I could impart that lesson to anyone without giving the meaning away… but that just makes me all the more certain that you'll succeed where we-" He coughed violently into the crook if his arm, coating it in a few splashes of red. My eyes softened in sympathy, I knew what it was like to experience organ failure, I died in a similar manner after all-

His hand found its way on top of my head and caressed it affectionately. I stilled at the sudden contact, but didn't move away. I glanced at Nicholas questioningly from the corner of my eye, seeing him smiling proudly, even when all color left his face.

I hummed to myself and smiled… it didn't feel bad. Still, I had one more question to ask…

"You're putting an awful lot of faith in me… Fixing the world is a tall order, you know?" I chuckled softly. His hand slid off my head and into his lap, I tilted my head curiously at him, his chest was no longer heaving, in fact it was rising and falling slower and slower…

"Perhaps it's foolish of me to grasp at straws, but I'm dying, Caryll. Faith and hope are the only things I have left. I didn't even know anything about you when we first met and I still grasped at the slim chance that maybe you're like us. I'm only fortunate my gamble paid off for as long as it did…" His eyes drooped low and his cane fell out of his grasp.

"Right…" Trust Nicholas not to pull his punches, even now. I sighed and leaned back to look at the broken moon hanging above us. Its soft glow coupled with the falling silver ash made for a beautiful sight…

"Hey, Nicholas?"

"Hmm?"

"Maybe you don't have to blindly hope that this world will be fixed."

"What… do you mean…?"

"If that… Limbo place is real and you do meet your sister there… don't leave it just yet. When it's time I'll join you there and tell you everything."

"E-everything?"

"Of course, I will pick up where all of you left off and fulfill your dreams. After that all of you can rest peacefully no matter where you end up. How about it?"

"…T-that does sound fine… thank you-…"

…

…

I looked over to Nicholas, the light has left his eyes, but his expression was serene. A small smile tugged at my lips and I leaned my head against the tree. I closed my eyes and gave in to the overwhelming fatigue…

"Until we meet again, Nicholas."

* * *

_Well, it's time to say goodbye to gramps and the Orient-express. May they rest in peace._

_This chapter was the last of the Continental Express Arc, there will be some scenes that'll help with transitioning, but next chapter we'll finally get back on track with the search for Summer and reach Vacuo¸ get a new weapon, equipment upgrades and a small wardrobe change with a custom insignia. All courtesy of the black market and the beginning of the new Arc, the Red Sands of Sunny Vacuo._

_One thing I planned on putting into the chapter, but didn't quite fit anywhere was the effect of the Iratus Queen on people. Its mental pressure was high enough to cause a nosebleed. Sure, that particular vein in the nose is easy to pop, but it did that at a distance of miles, while weakened. At the range where Nicholas and especially Caryll fought it, if the Queen wanted to it could cause catastrophic brain damage (A dozen hemorrhages happening in the brain at the same time) to unprotected people (e.g.; no Aura or defensive Semblance). The passengers got lucky in the sense that the swarm wanted to feed on them and only got knocked unconscious instead of getting killed._

_I'm open to suggestions on what Caryll should call the flames, originally (this chapter was supposed to be done in October) I was going to continue with the star theme and call them Corona after the Sun's heliosphere, but then the whole outbreak happened and now I'm a bit iffy about it._

_And no, I will not call it *the black fire utilized by a certain franchise's name*._

_Caryll finally achieves Bankai. I will say this now to avoid further confusion, Caryll was strong enough to get to the next stage of the Silver Eyes even without the use of a catalyst, he just didn't know the proper method of achieving it. If I'm still going with the whole stellar theme, the best analogy for this would be "cold" and "hot" fusion. The sustained fusion of different elements under extreme conditions inside the cores of stars is called hot fusion, however sustained fusion is theoretically achievable even without these conditions in a much more controllable environment, we just don't know how to go about it yet. We call this cold fusion._

_The way the flames of the Silver Eyes are intended to be used is like cold fusion; if you know the right method you can achieve it with relatively low energy input, hence Summer's comment about the requirement of petrifying at least a Giant Nevermore. What Caryll does is akin to hot fusion. He lacks the knowledge of how to properly use the flames, so he just utilizes a catalyst to multiply the power of his eyes to the level where it just doesn't matter what method is utilized, fusion/divine fire is achieved and maintained by its own power._

_What this means is that Caryll just created an entirely new method and style of using the Silver Eyes, unknown to any other SEW, since they were taught the "correct" method and style by their relatives before the purging of the bloodline began._

_It is potent, but it's still in its infancy. It's incredibly taxing and the backlash on Caryll is severe, but with time who knows what can come of it?_

_No Omake this time either, just wait for the special to come out, besides, this chapter took the title of the longest chapter from Chapter 11 by a good margin._

_**Reviews:**_

_Blaze2121: No, he can't copy the Schnee summons. They are unique only to them._

_Blitz Drachm: It was retcon that only Schnees can use glyphs. Up until the end of Volume 2 we see multiple people using glyphs (Cinder and Glynda for example). I'm normally alright with retcons, but this one seemed a bit weird and unnecessary to me, so everybody being able to use them is TSEP canon if nothing else._

_SortaCore: Thank you! I haven't received a review about my formatting in a long while and I'm happy to hear feedback. I looked into the issue and fully agree with you, but it will take some time for me to go over the entire story and fix it, so it will take a while to implement the changes it will bring (especially because I lost most files regarding the story and FFnet auto-deleted the rest after a while) but I'll definitely look into it soon._

_To go over your story points in order; Caryll is fully aware of canon up to Vol 6 and Ozpin's tendencies. Summer didn't tell Ozpin because it just doesn't fit her character to do so, she may be loyal, but she wouldn't sell out her own son (despite whatever Caryll may say, their relationship dynamic is like mother and son). As to working with Ozpin, remember that Caryll got transported to Remnant after Vol 6, right at the height of the "Ozpin is a manipulative asshole" wave. He trusts him to oppose Salem, but not much else. Regarding the tracking issue, who would you search for first? The mother or their child? They focused their attention on Caryll first and are behind on the search for Summer because of it by several days._

_The First Hunters sub-plot may seem like filler now, but I assure you it isn't. There is an underlying theme for every Volume of RWBY; it was lies and their consequences for Volume 6 and trust for Volume 7. Similarly, this story has one as well; the truth and its many faces. We have been presented with Team ASHE's story two times by this point, each time a bit different. Ozpin told us the public version of a tragedy, but even then, we could feel something was fishy because he cautioned Caryll against looking too much into it. Then we hear the same tale form the perspective of a close friend/sibling, revealing more information about the state of the world and the personalities of Team ASHE. This makes Caryll reconsider his standpoint and he begins to question if he even has the full story in the first place, and not just a censored version. As this story progresses, he will uncover more and more about their tale and it will greatly shape his outlook on the world and the people in it as a whole._

_Caryll didn't react in time to the bug, because he didn't expect it to be that fast (it's like when you prepare to kill a cockroach and it just flies at you) and Nicholas cut off his own arm because A, at that point he didn't know Caryll awakened his eyes, and B, it wouldn't have mattered anyway, because he was already stung and the venom was in his bloodstream. In his condition if he didn't cut it off, his heart would have given up and gone into cardiac arrest. No matter what option he chooses, he would die regardless._

_GenericUsername11: That's some dedication and it looks to have paid off today :)_

_Guest 1ris: Nope._

_Guests/Other well-wishers: Thank you guys!_

_See you next time!_


	16. Chapter 16

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and this is the sixteenth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. Some may have noticed that I had updated every single chapter of the story not so long ago. I'd mostly done a lot of reformatting like I said I would and edited a few parts to avoid logical inconsistencies and changed the explanation for Caryll's Semblance to be more fitting. Other than that, I haven't done any changes that would warrant a reread._

_Also, there is a one-shot on my profile for those of you who didn't know about it, that's the special I've talked about previously._

_We also have a new Beta, thanks to Ikasuki for lending a hand in editing this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 16: Cimeterium**

She awoke with a splitting headache emanating from her temples, it was nothing compared to her usual migraines, but it was still enough to make her let out a groan of pain. She was cold, her clothes also felt a bit damp, where was she? She blearily opened her heavy eyelids and blinked away her tiredness to take in her surroundings… a cave? No, a mining tunnel, there was old equipment scattered around. Turning her head around the dimly lit chamber she saw other, still unconscious people laid down in rows one after the other.

She really should have seen this coming…

She patted down her jacket and pants until she could feel the cold steel of her weapon in her hands, she at least still had that. Armed and at least somewhat ready, she got to her feet, somewhat reassured that she could hear those familiar echoes and blurry silhouettes in the edges of her vision. They told her that even if things didn't look safe, they will be soon enough.

"What happened?" She found herself asking, her normally silvery voice croaked from the sudden exertion and she coughed roughly into her hand. She remembered being on that train, travelling to Vacuo and then… pain, she collapsed onto the floor of her cabin and a strange Grimm bug stung her. They must've been attacked then, but if that was the case, where were the Grimm? She couldn't see any and her silhouettes seemed calmer than the situation would normally warrant.

"Only one way to find out, I guess…" She murmured and focused her attention before her. The previous headache had somewhat subsided, but the searing migraine that always accompanied her active usage of her Semblance flared up full force. The effect was instantaneous, a single moment stretched towards eternity and her silhouettes left the edges of her vision and stepped before her. Echoes and outlines became voices and people, their forms blurred before her as they moved. Her eyes twitched in pain as she focused more, the figures grew in numbers like bacteria and their voices bled together into incoherent speech, however some words were spoken more than others, these key phrases were chorused one at a time, allowing her to make sense of some.

Grimm, mine, rescue, Vacuo, Hunters and… Caryll Rose?

Her breath hitched as she reached her limit with her Semblance and the pain became unbearable. She deactivated her ability and the fast moving people retreated back to the edges of her sight, fading to shadows and echoes, but never leaving her. She collapsed to the hard ground in a heap, panting from the pain caused by the backlash. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples for minutes, trying to ease her recovery.

Bark!

The sudden noise made her jump in place and she snapped her eyes open to look at… a small corgi sitting before her? She blinked in mild surprise and regarded the docile dog curiously. It was sitting a feet before her, head tilted to the side with its tongue lolling out lazily.

"Hi?" She offered unsurely, thankfully her migraine was affecting her less and less, but she still made a mental note to stock up on aspirin as soon as she could.

Bark! The strange dog got up from the ground and trotted over to her, where it promptly invaded her personal space and began sniffing and licking her defenseless face. She yelped, the pitch of her voice finally returning, and awkwardly got up to a sitting position with the small dog held at bay in front of her. Wiping away the saliva on her face with the sleeve of her jacket she noticed that the dog had a red collar on it. She reached for it once the overly friendly dog decided her arm was interesting and promptly took it in its mouth.

Gross.

"Zwei?" She guessed, receiving a happy bark in response between chews. "And your owner is…" Her eyes widened when she saw the very name she had heard from her silhouettes. Thinking it over for a minute, she decided to search for this person, judging from the circumstances he seemed important and could maybe tell her what was going on.

"Can you take me to your owner?" She requested, the dog seemed strangely intelligent so it was worth a shot. Zwei let go of her hand and stared at her strangely, it felt like the docile dog was staring into her soul. After a few seconds of that, Zwei went to her side and repeatedly poked the hilt of her weapon with his nose.

"Hey, what are you doing-?" She finally stood up to her full height and yelped again when Zwei used his deceptively small legs to jump up and grab the hilt of her collapsed weapon.

"Zwei, give that back!" The thieving dog ran a circle around her before dropping the weapon at her feet. She snatched it up from the ground and glared lightly at the dog who was jumping in place while motioning away with its head.

"You… want to play fetch?"

Bark!

"Will you take me to your owner afterwards?"

Bark!

"Ugh, fine. Fetch!" She resigned herself to washing away the impossibly intelligent dog's saliva from her family heirloom later. She threw the weapon away and Zwei blurred after it. Zwei got under it and prepared to jump and catch it, but the weapon flew into a wall and clattered to the ground and Zwei disappeared through the wall.

"Huh?" She stared bewilderedly at the spot where the annoying dog was a moment ago while wiping at her eyes. Was that one of her silhouettes coming to life or was she losing it? She was spared from a possible mental breakdown when the ghost dog reappeared and picked up the thrown object while running back to her.

"How- Wah!" Zwei jumped up into her arms and began to enthusiastically lick her face. She awkwardly caught her falling weapon and held Zwei away from her face. Before she could even reprimand or question the strange canine, an intangible vortex consumed her vision and she could feel herself spiral away to somewhere.

* * *

Dawn and the search and rescue team arrived sooner than I'd expected. In fact, it was the roaring of the airships' engines that woke me from my slumber. It took longer than I'd liked, but through aching bones and sore muscles I got up and shot a Fire Dust arrow into the sky to serve as a flare, I don't think they would have bothered to get this close to the huge bonfire of white that was the still burning corpse of the Iratus Queen.

I didn't have to wait for long before an airship landed before me and let out a team of Hunters. They secured the surrounding area while their leader briefly questioned me on the whereabouts of the passengers, since the bulk of the rescue force was waiting by the wreckage of the train. After giving them directions to the abandoned mining settlement and promising a full explanation later, I was allowed to be looked over by one of the many medics present. My nose was reset, which wasn't very fun, and I even had the time to wash off the dried blood and get a change of clothes.

So, somewhat refreshed but still sore in places, I made my way through the hastily erected medical tents and landed airships to the leader of the mission. I was pondering on how to present what had happened last night when I felt a disturbance in my Time-Space. I stopped in my tracks and willed the disturbance to appear before me, expecting it to be Zwei, however I didn't expect him to bring someone else along.

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity with both of us trying to overcome our surprise, though I doubt we shared reasons, seeing as they just appeared out of thin air, holding my dog.

…

…

"You… have Silver Eyes," I managed to say after a while.

"So do you," the girl holding Zwei blinked at me in return. We looked each other up and down for a few seconds in stunned surprise. She looked to be my age, if a bit smaller with a pale complexion, honey blonde, mid-length wavy hair and Silver Eyes that for some reason darted around the area while faint reflections danced on their surface. She wore an open golden yellow jacket over a tan undershirt, complemented by black pants and boots and a collapsed weapon in one of her hands. I slowly returned my attention back to her face, which sported a more and more painful expression as the seconds ticked by, then suddenly she seemed to snap back to reality and regarded me with a wry smile.

"I believe he's yours," the girl said softly and held out Zwei to me. I hesitated for a second before taking him in my arms, Zwei didn't waste a second and wiggled free to perch on my shoulders and lick my face. I'll never understand how legs so small could have so much strength in them.

"…Thank you, oh I'm Caryll by the way," I introduced myself, remembering my manners at last.

"Oh, I know…"

Not sure how to react to that information, I struggled for words.

"Right, I, uhh-" "Oh, sorry about that," she quickly shook her head and apologized, "sometimes I forget that others don't see things as I do…" She trailed off with a strange expression before offering a small smile and a hand, "My name is Theodora, but you can call me Theo." I looked at the offered hand and took it after a moment of pause.

"Nice to meet you Theo, but what were you doing-" "You know about our heritage," she cut me off again with that strange expression. I raised a curious eyebrow in response, well she wasn't very subtle it seemed.

"Yeah I do, and so do you," I answered with a half shrug. Honestly this whole thing was a surprise to me, I didn't expect to run into any other people with Silver Eyes, least of all in the middle of nowhere. I knew that Salem hunted our kind and Summer mentioned a thing or two about purges, but I didn't give much thought to the whole ordeal other than the impact it had on my life and my plans.

"Yeah, you're the first one I've met since…" Her eyes glassed over and she stared off into space again. I saw those faint reflections blur in her eyes again and I got the feeling this could take a while if I didn't do something.

"Theo?" I called awkwardly.

"Huh, yes?" She seemed to snap back to reality and regard me curiously.

"Can you let go of my hand? My palm is getting sweaty," I requested with a wry smile. She looked down at our still clasped hands and pulled hers back with a strangled yelp. She blushed in embarrassment and muttered something suspiciously sounding like "Not again" under her breath. I tilted my head to the side and regarded the flustered girl with both amusement and awkwardness.

What a strange girl.

"Anyways, I have to go to a debriefing now, we can talk more on the way if you want to," I offered and scratched the back of my head. Theo quickly collected herself and readily agreed with a strange glint in her eyes, though I could see they weren't those weird reflections this time.

* * *

After a brief recounting of the events that unfolded last night, silence reigned in the quickly assembled command tent. There were five of us there, counting myself and Theo, the leader of the operation and I stood on opposite sides of a low table with two other Hunters standing behind him with momentarily forgotten radios buzzing with activity. The leader, an aging Hunter didn't stop me once in my tale and just stared at me with an unreadable expression, which somehow felt worse than the two Hunter's baffled expressions and Theo's piercing glare to the back of my head.

"So," the man cleared his throat to break the suffocating silence that took hold after my story. "You want to tell me, that you've not only wiped out tens of thousands of a Grimm species that has been extinct for decades, but right after that you've killed a Titan of that same species that is now that amorphous burning hill where we've found you, effectively eradicating them again. All in a single night." The man finally allowed his disbelief to show on his wrinkled face.

"I couldn't have defeated the Queen without my teacher, but yes, that's the gist of it," I shrugged with a strained smile, the death of the old Schnee was still fresh in my mind.

"Right…" The man amended, seeing through my expression. "Forgive me for my bluntness, but do you have any evidence to back up your story? I just find it hard to believe that you and Nicholas did something unheard of in decades," he asked with a searching look, I guess I could understand where he was coming from, no Titan has been killed since the time of the First Hunters, well until yesterday that is. I put a hand to my chin in a thinking manner, narrowing my eyes in thought. What to do, what to do?

I snapped my fingers as an idea occurred to me. I opened an outbound portal from my right eye and summoned an annoying pest I caught yesterday.

"Woah!" The others in the tent took several steps back as they saw the Iratus Grimm writhing in my grasp.

"Here's your extinct Grimm," I grinned as I held out the Grimm bug at them with one hand holding it beneath its stinger and with the other holding it by its belly. I closed my eyes for a second before opening them again, revealing silver flames dancing wildly around them.

"And here's your mysterious fire that only burns Grimm, satisfied?"

Hah, I should do this more often, their expressions of disbelief are hilarious.

…

…

The old Hunter finally came to his senses and stepped closer to me, eyes hard and fixated on the Iratus in my hands. "There's no mistaking it, that's an Iratus…" His eyes then travelled upwards to meet mine. "And you, but how?"

"I have Silver Eyes," I replied with a smile while cutting off the flames.

"But… those are just supposed to be myths, fairy tales to entertain children…" The hardness in his eyes disappeared and was replaced with genuine wonder.

"Yes, and these were supposed to be eradicated decades ago," I nodded at the creature in my hands, "if this doesn't make you want to question your preconceptions, I don't know what will," I shrugged and warped the squirming bug back into my Time-Space. That made the man pause and stare off into the distance with a thinking expression, his escort of two doing likewise. I didn't get to say anything more as I was yanked backwards by the fabric of my cloak.

"What are you doing?" Theo whispered harshly into my ear. She let go of me and I turned to face her with a steely expression.

"I'm sending a message," I stated without hesitation.

"To whom? We live in secrecy for a reason, you know, there are people searching for us, hunting us. I've been running from them ever since-"

"I know," I cut her off with a light glare. "I know who's after us, what they're capable of and I'm not afraid of them. They took my mother away from me and I have a feeling they'd done something similar to you," I sent her a questioning look, her silence was enough confirmation for me to continue. "I don't know what they hoped to achieve when they began hunting and massacring our kind, but when they hear about this and see that burning mountain, they'll understand that there's someone out there who'll fight back and win. That there is someone out there who's a genuine threat that they can't ignore." I pointed in the direction of the Queen's corpse without taking my eyes off of her.

"That's my declaration of war to them."

Rumors would no doubt spread about someone who took down a Titan, these would reach Salem and her circle fast, I'd imagine. This gave me another option to work with, a new Plan E, have them hunt for me instead. I could fight Summer to a standstill and she was considered one of the best of her generation. I was confident I could do the same with one of Salem's agents, more than that if I could upgrade my equipment and build my weapon finally. I could beat them and question them about Summer's whereabouts without having to lift a finger in terms of searching on my own.

Theo backed away a couple of steps form me with wide eyes. The reflections in her eyes returned, making her eyes dart around for a time while she lifted a hand to massage her temple. The reflections cut off after some time and she turned to stare at the ground with a thinking expression.

"I…" She returned her attention back to me and her expression wavered. "Then I will put my faith into you for now."

* * *

"You'll still have to answer a few questions for the authorities, not to mention the media once they get wind of this," the aging man reminded as he escorted me towards a cargo airship preparing to take off.

"I have some time sensitive matters to tend to near Vacuo and this delay wasn't welcome at all," I explained over the whirring of the engines. "They can ask all the questions they want afterwards, but not now." I gave him a strained smile that I was sure explained how little I actually cared about those things at the moment. We came to a halt before the airship and the man turned to face me.

"I see. Well, I won't stop you, considering the circumstances you deserve some leeway. That is as long as you really intend to answer those questions," he chuckled and his face evened out. "But I'd urge you to spare some of that precious time for this too." He turned to a nearby crate and picked up a long and narrow object that was wrapped up in a red fabric. He turned back to me and offered the item for me to take.

"What's this?" I asked curiously and took the object in my hands, however once my fingers touched the red fabric I instantly realized its origins.

It was Nicholas' scarf wrapped around his cane.

"We've found Nicholas where you said we would and are preparing to transport him to Vacuo before sending him back all the way to Atlas," he told me while I eyed my teacher's precious possessions. "…I don't know if you're aware, but aging Hunters like myself and especially Nicholas rarely take on students, I wouldn't be surprised if you were the only Hunter-in-Training he took on in decades, maybe in his entire life," he shrugged. "I guess what I'm trying to say is since that you two were close, perhaps you could notify his family yourself. I'm sure both Nicholas and they would appreciate it if you were the one who delivered the news." I listened to him silently while staring at the cane-sword in my hands.

"I… I'll be sure to do that," I swallowed the lump in my throat and lifted my head to give him a weak smile. The man nodded in response and bid me farewell before returning to his duties, leaving me alone on the improvised landing area.

Another thing to add to the ever-growing list, I sighed and warped away the mementoes of my teacher into Kamui. I turned on my heel and boarded the airship, closing the door behind me as I looked around the cargo hold. This airship just got done unloading medical supplies and was already preparing to return to Vacuo for another supply run, so the cargo hold was mostly empty save for a few stacks of strapped down crates. However, there was an addition to its visage that was somewhat amiss.

"Looks like I'm not the only one in a hurry," I commented as I saw Theo sitting on a couple of crates with a travelling bag at her feet, lost in her little world as I've come to expect. She seemed to snap out of it and frown at me.

"Well, thanks to your little message, I have to leave even faster than I'd wanted to," she grumbled and brought her knees up to her chest.

"Sorry about that," I snorted unapologetically and made my way to sit on another stack of crates. "So, where are you headed?"

"I… don't know. I planned on going to Vacuo and lay low for a week or two before going to Karnacca, but now I'm not sure," she sighed and hugged her knees.

"Wait, you travel completely alone? I thought you'd have someone to travel with?" I blinked at her in confusion. The girl was what, ten or so and was casually crossing the continent on her own?

"My family's gone and I would be too if I hadn't ran for the past few years. I've had someone… take care of me for a while, but they're gone too," she shrugged, expression downcast.

"Did they teach you how to fight?" I nodded to the collapsed weapon at her side.

"Among other things, they mainly taught me how to look after myself." I hummed in thought at that before breaking out in a smile.

"Well, you're not alone anymore. As your cousin it's my duty to look out for you." I told her brightly, making her blink owlishly at me.

"Cousin?"

"Well yeah, we don't share many similarities and I don't really know my family tree that much, so we're second or third cousins at best, but still, we're family!" I gestured enthusiastically between our eyes. Her own widened at that and she was about to respond when those weird reflections clouded her eyes once more, making her partially zone out and put a hand against her temple in pain.

"…You've been doing that a lot, you okay?" My smile dropped as I caught her wincing. She snapped herself out of whatever trance she's been in and sighed.

"Yeah, it's just my Semblance acting up, I… can't really control it and it sometimes activates on its own."

"What is your Semblance? It looked… painful," I asked both out of curiosity and worry. Theo closed her eyes and let go of her knees.

"…Unlike others, when I open my eyes I don't just see the world in front of me. I hear and see things that shouldn't exist yet, but they do for me. For an endless moment the world slows down and I can observe every faint silhouette or echo. If I concentrate hard enough, the images and sounds can become clear enough for me to learn everything they have to offer."

"You… can see the future?" My eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

And I thought my Semblance was cheating…

"Futures," she corrected without pause, she opened her eyes and looked at me with those same reflections dancing across her irises. "The future isn't set in stone. When I look at you, I see dozens upon dozens of possibilities play out and overlap, no matter how strange or unlikely they are." Theo elaborated before shutting off her Semblance with a wince.

"That's…"

"Tiring, uncontrollable, excruciating and distracting, but it's what kept me alive so far," she offered a wry smile.

"So that's why you paused before conversations, you wanted to see every outcome before saying anything," I accused lightly. I wasn't mad, but it did shed some light on things, like how she knew my name, and it was certainly clever. Theo confirmed it with a shameful nod before responding.

"I observe as many scenarios as possible and plan around the ones that play out and overlap the most, but that doesn't mean I can always do something about the outcome. If you decided to just stand up and kill me, I wouldn't be able to do anything about it," she waved airily with a humorless laugh.

"That's a morbid and very unlikely scenario," I said wryly in discomfort.

"And yet I see it anyway," she countered somberly, "no matter how random or gruesome the scenario is, I always see at least one of those possibilities among the sea of others." I exhaled softly and gazed at her in sympathy, I saw a far future too and sometimes I thought it was simply too much, the pain, the distrust and the destruction. Then here she was, seeing something similar happening every day. I hopped off my stack of crates and sat beside her on hers.

"There has to be other upsides, right? Most of the time Semblances aid the user, can't you ignore or turn these bad visions off?" I hypothesized but Theo was already shaking her head.

"The echoes and silhouettes are always there in the corners of my vision, whispering and doing both good and bad things. Focusing usually helps somewhat, but it hurts badly and I can never control how far they go or when do they even begin. Sometimes my Semblance flares up randomly and I lose track of the real world for hours… Huh, the more I think about it, the more it sounds like a useful curse, rather than a Semblance," she chuckled mirthlessly. I put a comforting hand on her shoulder and was about to speak when the door separating the cockpit and the cargo hold slid open, revealing our pilot looking at a notepad in his hands.

"So, you two kids are the ones I'm supposed to bring back to the kingdom?" He asked distractedly before stowing away the notepad and looking at us. He wore a yellow helmet and an orange visor covered the upper portion of his face, so I couldn't really make out his expression at the moment.

"Yep, I hope we're not a bother," I replied amiably, to which the pilot snorted in response.

"Please, it's the least I could do. I've had relatives on that train coming to visit for the holidays and they are mostly fine thanks to you. In fact, if you ever need a ride somewhere free of charge, just call me up," he crossed his arms and smiled at me. I blinked at him in surprise, looks like those rumors were spreading faster than I thought. I silently debated for a few moments if I should tell him that all of this was technically my fault and he really didn't need to do anything, but I ultimately decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Thanks, could I chip in that favor, let's say… later this day?" It was the seventh day since Summer's disappearance and I still needed to do my own investigation and preparations while I was in Vacuo. Relay towers covered a large area, so I needed to narrow down the search area even further, unless I wanted to comb through hundreds of square miles of desert.

"Sure thing, I'll be free after five in the afternoon," he nodded and turned back towards the cockpit. "Get yourselves comfortable in the meantime, I'm done with preflight checks so we're lifting off. If we're quick we'll even reach the city before lunch." With that he returned to the cockpit and closed the door behind him.

"Well, that settles it," I declared while looking ahead of us. "We have one day to master your Semblance." Theo's head snapped to me with an incredulous expression.

"What are you talking about?" I met her gaze with a determined one of my own.

"A Semblance that you can't control is no more than a hindrance, a problem to get rid of. No matter how distant, we're still family, and family looks out for each other. That makes your problems mine too, and I treat problems like challenges that need to be overcome… I have a good track record with those," I finished with a growing smile. Theo stared at me with wide eyes for a while with a variety of emotions flashing across her face until she finally let out a resigned sigh.

"You're weird, you know that?"

"I've been told that a few times, but usually with less polite terms." My reply got her to let out a short laugh.

"Fine, but I have to tell you that I've been trying for as long as I can remember, I doubt we'll make any headway now," she warned with a shake of her head. Not to be deterred, I thought back to my lessons with Summer, Raven and Nicholas. Semblances were a tricky and very broad subject that greatly varied from person to person, but a few fundamental truths applied to all of them without exception. For example, no Semblance could function without Aura… we could constantly break hers to stop the visions, but I doubt she would appreciate that method.

Another example was that the greater control one had over their Aura, the easier it was for them to utilize their Semblance. With a thoughtful hum I channeled Aura to my eyes to observe her and promptly muttered a curse.

"Gods, what's with your Aura…" I grimaced as I observed her honey colored Aura ripple across her form. Unlike the normal, slow stream of light that flowed from the nerves to the skin like a calm river, her Aura was like a star where Aura flowed from inside the body in large chunks and then either swirled around on the surface or got ejected outside. She didn't have much Aura relatively speaking, just around the level of a Signal graduate's, which was still a lot compared to her age, but it was recharging even faster than mine did.

"What's with it?" She asked indignantly and gave me the stink eye.

"You barely have any control over it, no wonder you can't control your Semblance," I gave her a blank stare.

"Hey, I can control it just fine while it's inside me," she defended with crossed arms.

"That's the thing Theo, the entire cargo hold is saturated with your Aura. You're like a malfunctioning sprinkler with an unlimited water supply."

…

…

"I shouldn't have said that," I nodded to myself when I noticed her twitching eyebrow and clenched fist. I summoned a plate of cookies with my Semblance and offered her some. "I'm sorry?"

She blinked in surprise at the plate's appearance, but winced when her stomach growled. She nodded sheepishly in acceptance and reached for a couple of the pastries. We munched on our breakfast in silence for a few moments when something occurred to me.

"Wait, when you use your Semblance to see the future-" "Futures." "-Right, how far exactly do you see, physically speaking I mean?" I asked between bites. Semblances had limits to them, Theo's was no different from what she told me, but how far did hers really extend? She activated her Semblance, causing the blurs to reappear for a second before dismissing them.

"I usually see events happening in a… dozen or so meter radius around me I guess, or in the room I'm currently in, like the one we're in for example," she explained with a thoughtful shrug.

"Then the solution to your problem is obvious," I commented offhandedly, making her turn to me with a confused expression. "Many Semblances are tied to Aura in some way other than being just a fuel source, my Aura for example phases away to another dimension when it isn't anchored down to something and yours is similar in a way. My guess is that your Semblance is using your Aura as a medium to function, that's why you only see events around you," I shrugged in explanation. "Learn to properly suppress your Aura and you'll gain complete control of your Semblance." It wasn't a very fast or easy solution, but it was the only way.

Theo froze in place and remained still like statue for what felt like hours, just looking at me like I offered her the Holy Grail. She eventually let a smile form on her face and turned to search through her bag for something. She eventually found what she was looking for and shyly presented a Scroll to me.

"I-… can I take a picture of you?" She requested with her eyes looking elsewhere. The unexpected request made me raise an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I've been losing memories ever since I've unlocked my Semblance… it was barely noticeable at first, small things and some words missing here and there, but as time went on I had trouble recalling more important things, like important dates and faces of loved ones. My caretaker said that I have trouble with forming long term memories or something," she explained somberly. This threw me for a loop as I tried to find a logical reason for a drawback so severe-

"Oh…"

I remember hearing a comparison once in my old life between the human brain and computers. I didn't remember exact figures, but I recall hearing that the human brain could theoretically store enough information to allow a person to remember hundreds of years' worth of memories.

With experiencing dozens of different timelines at once nigh constantly for how knows how many years, Theo's memory should be filling up rapidly. Forgetting old memories isn't simply a drawback of her Semblance, but a safety mechanism of her body put in place to prevent her memory from overloading.

"I've found that pictures help with remembering, so I've been making as many as I could about things I'd like to remember," she continued, then she finally turned to look back at me with an embarrassed smile. "You're the first family I've come across while… travelling and you've been nothing but kind and helpful and… I guess I just wouldn't want to forget you once we part ways," Theo admitted shyly with a hopeful look.

I didn't need to be a genius to figure out the best course of action here.

I sighed softly and slid beside her while taking the Scroll out of her hands. I draped one of my arms around her shoulders and leaned my head beside hers while raising the Scroll up in the air. Not giving the very surprised girl a chance to collect herself, I took our picture.

A flash of light blinded us for a brief moment and we separated to look at it.

"You look hilarious!" I snickered at her shocked expression and rigid body, talk about a deer caught in the headlights. Meanwhile I was beaming at the camera with my off hand making a peace symbol over Theo's opposite shoulder. The various crates and walls didn't offer the best background, but oh well, it was still an awesome picture in my book.

"I look horrible! Did you have to take it in this lighting? I demand-" "Less complaining, more practicing with your Aura," I cut her whining off with a smirk and tossed the Scroll back to her. She didn't appreciate my tone, if her piercing glare was anything to go by, but she did reluctantly put her Scroll back into her bag and turn to me for instruction.

* * *

The journey to Vacuo was relatively short, but we did manage to make some progress with Theo's control problem; her Aura was less… volatile compared to earlier, which was a sign of greater mastery. Not much else was achieved sadly, her main problem was with Aura projection and that was a skill only learned by third year students of the Academies for a reason, not to mention that I could only coach her on theoretical aspects since I sucked even more in practice than she did.

So, it was with a minor sense of accomplishment that we disembarked our transport and stepped outside into the kingdom surrounded by miles and miles upon of sand dunes and drylands. A slight dry breeze hit me as I opened the door, coupled with the glaring sun hanging up above, the first impression I had of this corner of Remnant was a distraught longing feeling for Vale's and Mistral's more temperate climates.

I wasn't pale as chalk, but I was sure I wouldn't last more than a few minutes under that sun.

"At least it isn't the snow," I muttered while putting on my mask.

"What's with that?" Theo appeared beside me and raised an eyebrow at the mask. I hopped down to the concrete ground of the landing pad and pulled up my hood.

"I have people after me at the moment, so I can't afford to be recognized." I wouldn't be surprised if Qrow or someone else was already on route to Vacuo. Headmasters were regarded as the de facto leaders of Hunters in their respective kingdoms and all of them answered to Ozpin on some level. I wouldn't put it past the old wizard that he already caught wind of the Titan incident involving a Silver Eyed Warrior. Considering the circumstances, it wouldn't be hard for him to connect the dots and provide Qrow with a lead on me, which meant that I had one or two days at best before they caught up to me.

It was a lot less time than I'd like, but I'll have to make due.

The first thing I had to do was locate the black market, then I could sell my Dust and buy supplies, weapons and possibly information. The only hurdle with that plan was that I had no idea where to even begin. relative lack of law enforcement or not, a black market wouldn't be much of a black market if it could be found by anyone. I looked around myself and took in the brightly lit cargo airport, workers were already filing closer from the nearby warehouses to begin loading the waiting airship. Beyond those I could see houses made out of sandstone, concrete and steel, in the distance against the backdrop of sand dunes and towering palm trees I could even make out the roughly pyramid shape of Shade Academy alongside Amity Colosseum itself. The Vytal festival would start later this month and preparations were underway to accommodate the influx of tourists that were sure to flood Vacuo.

It provided a somewhat scenic view even from where I was, but I had to wonder, what made Summer come this far on her lonesome?

"So, where are you headed?" Theo asked me as she walked up beside me.

"I honestly have no idea. I'm looking for the black market, but without knowing what to even look for it could take days." Days that I did not have, nor did Summer. Theo hummed thoughtfully in response.

"Then it's a good thing you have me." This made me turn my head to her curiously. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you have, I picked up a few tricks along my travels," she shrugged with a smile.

"You know where we can find it?" My visible eye widened with hope.

"Maybe, it's not my first time here, but it has been a while and you know how's my memory," she shook her head negatively. "Maybe they've even changed their clues since then, but it's worth a shot."

"I'll take your word for it," I sighed lightly and gestured her to lead the way. That wasn't very reassuring, but it was a start at least.

Theo took the lead and let out a similar sigh, albeit for different reasons, "I hope we find a clue soon; I don't like being in the big cities," she complained.

"Why?" I asked as made to follow her a step behind.

"This many people and things in one place just gives my Semblance more variables to work with, the silhouettes would just blot out my vision," she explained with a wince. I hummed non committedly in response, we already came up with a solution for her problem, granted it was a long term one, but I didn't see how we could-

I stopped in my tracks.

I didn't see…

"Is something wrong?" Theo stopped and turned to me once she noticed she was walking alone.

"I think I just figured out a stop-gap solution for you until you gain total control of your Semblance," I told her with an ever growing smile.

"Really, what is it?" She asked interestedly.

"We'll blindfold you!" I presented my genius idea.

…

She gave me a flat look of disappointment and indignation.

"Hear me out, you see those shadows or whatever normally, right?" I moved to clarify my plan. She nodded slowly in a positive, still staring at me like an idiot. "Then even if your Semblance activates on its own, you'll see nothing and can immediately snap yourself out of it."

"Yes, but I would actually like to, you know, see things?" She said sarcastically, my smile only got wider at that.

"Exactly! Which is why you'll channel Aura into your eyes, my dear cousin."

"…What?" She truly looked lost now, which brought my internal celebration to a halt.

"What do you mean 'what?', I thought you were glad to meet someone else who knew how to use our heritage?" My visible eye crinkled in confusion.

"Well yeah, it's just that my knowledge is a bit spotty because…" She trailed off and briefly activated her Semblance for emphasis.

Oh…

"Did you… ever activate your eyes? Or know how to?" My expression evened out, losing memories must be difficult.

"No, most people unlock theirs in their late teens. I know the theory of how to go about it, but it's easier said than done. It would be even harder for me because of my Semblance," she reasoned solemnly. "Which makes me all the more confused as to how you're not only using yours, but how did you even awaken the flames of Lumia in the first place?" She shook her head and looked at me curiously.

…

"They have a name?" I stared blankly at her and I swear I could make out a tumbleweed roll past us.

"You don't even… Of course they have a name! How can you achieve the strongest form of our heritage and not even know its name?!" She sputtered incredulously.

"Well, my training has been cut short too because they took my mother, that's what I'm trying to fix right now," I crossed my arms defensively with a hidden frown. "Besides, I haven't made much headway with them since I've basically been figuring out things on my own, so how about we fill in the gaps in our knowledge? You tell me what you know about these Lumia flames and I tell you how to see even better than some Faunus do," I offered with a calmer tone.

"Fine, but like I said I only know the theory and it's easier said than done," she threw up her hands before crossing them over her chest. "So, how is your wonder method supposed to work?"

"Well, I could tell you, but then we'd be wasting daylight. So, how about we jump straight into practice? Channel Aura to your eyes." It was fortunate I had my mask on, because otherwise I would probably have given myself away with my contorted face and barely contained mirth. Theo reluctantly nodded and did as told.

I could fully understand Summer's reaction back then; the expression on someone's face as they lie on the ground experiencing sensory overload is simply priceless. The crossed eyes, the stuck out tongue and drooling mouth is a hilarious combination rarely seen in real life.

A painful one too, if the victim has no qualms about pummeling you afterwards as revenge.

* * *

"I never thought I would see that much Dust in one place, or money for that matter. You're seriously planning to spend all that money on weapons?" Theo asked wonderingly as we stepped onto a staircase leading to the basement of a run-down residential building. Luckily for us, they haven't changed the markings since Theo's last visit as evidenced by a black and white symbol of two hands reaching out for one another graffitied on the brick wall of the building.

"Quality equipment costs an arm and a leg and I need the best if I'm to go against those that hunt us," I responded as I opened the door at the bottom of the stairs, revealing the shop of the weapon dealer and manufacturer that apparently had the best reputation in the underbelly of the city. I looked around briefly, as I've come to expect in my short time here, all buildings had sand and dust in them no matter how well looked after they were, it was simply a fact of life in Vacuo. It held true here as well because I could see a generous amount of dust swirling in the air. Countless weapons rested on the walls and in glass display cases scattered around the room-

"Wipe your shoes!" I almost yelped in surprise when a voice shrieked across the room, Theo didn't have such problems and did so without hesitation. After the initial shock I tracked the voice to a woman standing behind a counter on the far side of the room… For the lack of a better term she looked like a classical hippie with clothes that seemed like they were painted by a toddler with paint stuck to their fingers, strangely braided hair and designer cap and glasses. What was even more surprising was her skin color, as in that it was constantly changing and shifting between different colors of the rainbow, was she a Faunus? She cleared her throat pointedly and glanced at my feet, I looked down at the ground and saw a doormat before my feet with writing on it.

_Welcome to Sunny Vacuo!_

I took a step forward and made a show of wiping my shoes, the woman nodded to me and shifted her glare at Theo, she followed my example, earning a satisfied huff form the weird woman.

"Thanks! Sorry for giving you the scare but I hate when customers drag their filthy feet through my shop. Everything gets even dustier than before and you know how it is-" "Sally,-" hic "-stop weirding out-" hic "-the customers!" Another voice cut the woman off and signified the arrival of a man from a doorway in the back. As opposed to the woman, he at least wore somewhat normal clothing, or whatever cloak-like garments passed as normal in Vacuo anyway. However, the half empty bottle of alcohol in his hand did nothing to alleviate my worries.

"I'm not! I'm just informing them about our policies regarding sand!" The woman, named Sally apparently, sniped back and sat down on a chair behind the counter. "I'm sure they get it-, I mean it's coarse, rough and irritating and it gets everywhere! There is no need to worsen the situation by bringing in even more of it!" She complained and grabbed a mug to drink from, only to blanch and pour out the sand that was inside instead of whatever drink she expected. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother, why did I leave Mistral? Sure, they didn't appreciate my art at all, but at least the environment didn't try to constantly revoke my right to exist," she whined, her skin color flickered between blue and purple and she slumped against the counter.

"Poor life choices-" hic "-Sally, poor life choices-" hic "-and money," the man addressed the overly dramatic woman before turning his attention to us with a bright smile. "But I'm sure you're not here to listen to our antics-" hic "-so how can we help you?" I shook my head at the amusing sight before me and conjured a familiar blueprint into my hand.

"Right, I was wondering if you could do a custom order for me." The man nodded positively and motioned towards his colleague. I approached the desk and placed the rolled up paper in front of the sulking Faunus. She perked up at the action and reached for the intruding object. She unfurled it and let her eyes roam over it with ever increasing speed. Her skin color changed rapidly from blue to yellow and then green before settling back to a normal slight tan, though spots of various pigments remained behind like-

Oh, Sally, Faunus, got it.

"Who designed this?" She eventually spoke up and looked at me with an unreadable expression.

"That would be me." She coughed into her hand politely in response and placed the blueprint between us.

"As a fellow artist I must admit that your design has merit and is very functional, I would even go as far as to say that some idio-… not so artistically inclined individuals would be overjoyed to possess something like it…"

"Thank you?" I responded unsurely, only for her to slam a fist into the table, upsetting the papers on it and causing her mug to roll off and fall to the ground.

"But I cannot in good conscious, make something so hideous- I mean just look at it! I get that it's like a Vytal army knife in functionality, but there are obvious improvements to be made here that even a toddler could spot!" I bristled at the jab and narrowed my eye at her.

"If you're talking about the mecha-shift, I left it out on purpose for easier maintenance."

"An understandable yet idiotic decision. Art has many faces- to only show one ugly aspect is a sin against art itself and a blight on the artist's reputation," she countered and crossed her arms in defiance.

…

…

"Alright, listen here lady, I don't know where you got your degree-" I removed my mask to clearly convey my disappointment and joined her behind the counter.

"This might take a while," Theo sighed as she stood with the man from earlier, just watching the two of us arguing rather animatedly over the blueprint over the finer details of the art of weapon design.

"Would you like some cactus tea in the meantime-?" hic "-I have a feeling this will turn out to be a fruitful business transaction."

"No, I'll head to the bazaar, I have a few things I wanted to buy and who knows, maybe they will finish their argument by the time I get back." She shook her head and walked out of the shop while calling out a brief explanation and goodbye to me.

"See you, Theo! Now, like I was saying this is an abstract piece of engineering that's elegant in its simplicity-!"

"Oh yes, it's simply horrendous! How do you expect anyone to look at you holding it and not burst out laughing?"

"You don't understand my vision!"

* * *

"It's done," I released a sigh of relief and took the still cooling weapon into my hands. After several hours of arguing- I mean debating, Sally and I took our business to their forge and created art.

"Yes, it is," Sally acquiesced as we walked back to the front of the store. "You know, I quite enjoyed working on this project, the challenge and the near impossible deadline of a few hours, it was thrilling to work on it together."

"Oh, I agree."

"If you're interested we could work-"

"Not a snowball's chance in hell."

"Ah good, I wouldn't have it any other way, but you know how professional courtesy goes," she agreed blandly. I nodded knowingly, just because we worked together on a wonderful collaboration project didn't change the fact that she was a witless fool who couldn't appreciate real art if it hit her in the face.

Still, I had to begrudgingly admit that some of her ideas were worthy of being incorporated into-

"So, what will be its name?" Sally asked with fake innocence as we reached the counter area. I pondered over it for a minute before snapping my fingers with a satisfied smile.

"Attero."

"Hmm, Old Valean? I like it," she clicked her tongue, savoring the word and nodded approvingly. "Now, since my colleague isn't here to ask, is there anything else I can do for you?" She forced a smile on her face and sat down on her swivel chair. In response I brought out a throwing knife and showed it to her.

"I'm looking to upgrade or find a substitute for these. Do you have any ideas?" Sally hummed and took the blade away from me with a hand on her chin.

"DUCKs? Now these are elegant in their simplicity, albeit not really resistant to more modern art… I might have something in mind," she snapped her fingers and disappeared under the counter, only to reappear with a similar looking, if a bit more polished and streamlined knife in her hand.

"This is from our stash reserved for favored customers, but I guess I can show it to you, even if you clearly have no real sense for design aesthetics," she huffed and placed the knife onto the counter. I collapsed Attero and stowed it on my back while observing the small blade.

"What's this?"

"The most modern, even futuristic art straight from the Atlesian Specialist Corps. They took the original DUCK design and modernized it with quality materials and better Dust handling capabilities," she explained while I rotated the knife in my hands, it certainly looked the part of a Specialist's gear.

"How did you get them if they're so new and apparently from the Atlesian military?" I asked confusedly.

"We had friends in the Atlesian detachment that escorted Amity to Vacuo. They were eager to make a buck and I was looking to expand our collection," Sally shrugged simply in response. Ah, the wonders of the black market. "There's also a neat little advantage they have over other combat knives, watch." She took out another knife and also took the one from my hand. She inserted a Lightning Dust crystal into their injection ports and channeled Aura into the blades. A moment later an intangible yellow string formed between the knives' hilts, just like the gravity strings I used in my vambraces.

"They can be networked without the need of a caster?" I asked, holding back a gasp of amazement.

"Yep," she confirmed with a knowing smirk.

"I'll take your entire stock," I stated with utmost seriousness. This could be huge, if I was right then this meant that these knives could serve as universal puzzle pieces for various glyphs. With these and Nicholas' lessons I could take my glyph casting to a whole new level.

"Hmm, maybe you're not as hopeless with art as I've thought," Sally acquiesced with a shake of her head. "I'll go get them, feel free to take a look around in the meantime," she said and walked out of the room to what I assumed was the storage area. I did as suggested and walked around, looking at various display pieces while humming to myself. I wasn't intending to buy any, but it was a novel experience to see what bizarre weapons could people come up with.

Seriously, there were missile backpacks, needle-gatling guns, high-frequency laser pointers, a rotary Dust-odachi, twin curved swords that could turn into a bow- wait what?

I stopped in my tracks and snapped my head back to where I saw the last two weapons. I reappeared before them in the blink of an eye and stared at them disbelievingly, there was no doubt about it, they were Omen and Laminae, but what the hell were they doing here!?

"Something caught-" hic "-your fancy?" The semi-drunk man from earlier reappeared and walked beside me.

"May I?" I snapped my attention to him and gestured animatedly at the weapons in front of me. He nodded and I grabbed hold of Omen first, seeing Raven's symbol on the sheath and then repeating the action with Laminae confirmed my suspicions and made me shudder in anticipation and trepidation.

"Where did you get these?" I rounded on the man with a desperate expression, Summer and Raven wouldn't just sell their weapons at the drop of a hat.

"Oh, those-?" hic "-An Atlesian gentleman came in a few days ago and sold these to us. The bastard drove a hard bargain I tell you." Atlesian gentleman? Considering the circumstances it would be reasonable to assume it was Watts, but why would he sell weapons? Funds maybe? Hunter weapons go for a lot and Salem's agents have to finance themselves somehow, I doubt Salem cared for her underlings' wellbeing beyond the success of their assigned tasks. But this also raised a problem, what the hell was Raven doing here? She is supposed to be in Mistral with her tribe-? Her Semblance allowed her to know if her bonded people were in danger, did she try to help Summer and got captured too… or did they spare themselves the trouble and just killed her?

I clenched my fists at the thought, no, in this case I shouldn't assume the worst right away.

"Did he say where he got these weapons from?" My voice strained a bit but the man didn't seem to mind.

"It's the black market, we don't ask unnecessary questions-" hic "-unless the items are highly sought after." I released a frustrated sigh, that's just great! I had not one, but two people to save now and I wasn't any closer than 'they are somewhere south of Vacuo!', simply wonderful.

"He found them in the Red Sands!" Sally's voice boomed from behind us as she reappeared by the counter with stacks of boxes in her hands. We turned to her with differing expressions of hope and curiosity.

"How can-" hic "-you tell?" Sally put down the boxes with the sound of clattering metal and shrugged.

"Like I said, sand gets everywhere, weapons are no exception," she explained. "And the sand in those weapons can only be found in that hellish graveyard."

"The Red Sands?" I raised my eyebrows at the name, hope at a new lead tinging my voice.

"Ah, it's an infamous place here in Vacuo-" hic "-it's the only place where you can find this kind of artificial sand," the man took Omen from my hands and rattled it a bit, causing a bit of red sand to pour out of the mecha-shift. I held out my hand under the falling sand and caught some of it. It was made up of coarse, red grains.

"Is this silica and… rust?" I wondered once I realized that there was in fact two kinds of material in my palm. The man nodded in confirmation.

"The Red Sands was once a lush oasis surrounded by towering mesas, but that changed when civilization appeared in Vacuo-" hic "-It became the battleground between individuals, tribes, city-states and even kingdoms-" hic "-when the last great battle of the Great War happened. Thousands of years of warfare scarred the land until the land couldn't heal itself and became nothing more than a deadly wasteland of rust and scrap metal, truly a graveyard of empires," he explained between hiccups and handed Omen back to me.

I nodded in understanding and warped away the weapons in my hands alongside the stacks of boxes on the counter. I then made a sizeable pile of Lien appear on the counter and walked out of the front door without a glance back. "Thank you for your help, keep the change."

I had a new lead to pursue and no time to waste.

* * *

Finding Theo didn't take long at all, knowing her Aura signature and thanks to her tendency of projecting her Aura everywhere made it easy to track her to a local bazaar. She waved to me once she caught sight of me in the crowd and motioned for me to come closer. I did so and made my way beside her to look at a selection of scarfs and other cloths with a similar purpose. She picked up a silver colored cloth and held it out for me to take.

"Could you help me put it on?" I nodded with a smile and took it from her hand.

"So, you decided my plan isn't stupid then?" She huffed and turned away from me. I placed the cloth over her eyes and tied it behind her head.

"I feel stupid with it but it works, so thank you, I guess," she mock sighed and turned back to face me. I rolled my eyes in response, but my expression sobered a moment later.

"I have new lead and an airship to get to, so I guess I wanted to say goodbye before I disappeared on you," I told her with a sad smile. I did enjoy spending the day with her, but all good things have to come to an end.

"Oh, you're leaving, huh." Theo's mouth curved a bit downwards with her sigh.

"Hey cheer up a bit, I'll come back and find you once I found my Mom. You don't have to worry about being alone-" "-I want to come with you." She cut me off and her face settled into a frown.

I wasn't surprised in the least by her interruption and shook my head. "Sorry, but no."

"Why?" She asked curtly without missing a beat, frown still in place.

"Out of everyone you should know how dangerous what I'm doing is. I'm gladly willing to risk myself over this, but I'm not letting others-" "Oh, I know!" She interrupted me yet again with a growl. She pulled up the blindfold and activated her Semblance.

"I know everything that can happen! I've spent the last four years running from settlement to settlement, not knowing what awaited me over the next hill or river, but knowing with full certainty what would happen if I stayed in place! I am tired of knowing! I am tired of running! I am tired of not doing anything!" She moved a finger against my chest and poked me roughly.

"And then you come along, doing exactly the opposite of how I've lived my life, flourishing alone and taking the fight back to them. I envy you, your confidence and determination. I want to prove to myself and to the world that I can be the same!"

"I don't doubt your determination, it's just-" "And don't treat me like a goldfish, Caryll! I may have trouble remembering things, but I recall you saying how because we were family, my problems were yours and that family should look out for each other. Well, guess what, that goes both ways!" Did she just cut me off again? This was quickly becoming an annoying trend… But still, she had a point. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, I wasn't keen on letting a little girl fight for me, moral questionability aside I didn't even know how good she would be in a fight. She was probably around Academy student level if I were to guess, though that greatly depended on how her Semblance acted during battle. She could just as likely hinder me as help-

Nicholas' lesson came to the forefront of my mind and I furrowed my brows in thought. I couldn't do this alone, the train incident proved as much, but was she like me and Nicholas? Nicholas admitted that at first he had no idea I was like him, so what made him sure later on? I glanced up at her steely expression and blinked in surprise at the look in her eyes. Not at the glow from the active Aura vision or at the shadows from her Semblance, but at the sheer determination in them.

It kinda reminded me of Summer and Nicholas…

Ah, my bleeding heart.

"Fine, you can come along on one condition; you have to master your Semblance first. Otherwise you'd only be liability." I sighed and massaged the bridge of my nose. Theo blinked in surprise, apparently not expecting that answer, and that was telling considering her currently active Semblance.

"That could take days," she protested weakly. I smiled mischievously at her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Better give it your all then," I gave her a shoulder pat and picked up a particular scarf that I saw from the corner of my eyes during our conversation. "See you later, Theo." I waved over my shoulder and disappeared into the crowd.

I had an airship to catch and a sewing kit to find.

* * *

"Hey kid, we're here." I stood up from my seat and joined the pilot in the cockpit.

"Already? It was closer than I expected," I commented as I looked out the front window of the airship, the sun was hanging low on the horizon and was basking the skies in orange light.

"It's as close as I can get you with that thing in front of us," the pilot shrugged, making me squint at a dark violet… pillar in the distance. It was still very far away and I had no idea why the pilot wouldn't fly any closer to it, but if he seemed wary of it, then there must be a reason for it. However, it was the only landmark that I could see and consequently it would probably the best place to start snooping around.

"It's alright, I can handle myself from here," I told the pilot and turned around to walk to the side door of the cargo hold.

"Good luck, kid. I don't know what you're doing in a graveyard like that, but I'm sure you'll need it!" The pilot called out one last time while I made a last minute equipment check. Laminae and its quiver were tightly strapped against my back and over my cloak, under that rested Attero in its folded state. I reached for the satchel bag containing my Dust reserves and new knives and patted it in confirmation. Finally, my hand travelled to my neck and caressed my new red scarf. The symbol of a five-armed spiral, made up from swirling white rose petals glowed briefly as I activated the Dust in it. Finding everything in order, I activated the opening mechanism and the door slid open to reveal the outside world.

What greeted me was a hellish wonderland of endless rust colored deserts, maroon mesas and deep chasms.

Simply wonderful.

"Much appreciated! And thank you again for the ride!" I shouted over the howling winds before taking a step forward and falling out of the speeding airship. The wind fluttered my cloak and threatened to undo my hair as I rapidly approached the sand dunes below me. I looked over my shoulder to see the airship swerve around and head back towards the kingdom, I would be on my own from now on. I warped myself to ground level and looked around curiously.

This place is supposed to have a lot of history to it, that was obvious if one were to see the rusting pieces of weaponry and armor occasionally protruding from the sands, but from what I've heard this was also a crossroads of sorts. The last battle of the Great War happened here, meaning that Ozpin was present while he was the king, the same with Nicholas' sister from what I remember and I remember Summer once telling me that my great-grandfather earned his war hero status in the last battle as well. And now Summer and maybe even Raven visited this place. It seemed like this place was attracting a lot of people, like it was somehow special.

And now it drew me as well, huh. Hopefully whatever that pillar was could shed some light on this whole situation. I put on my mask and hood and blurred from my spot towards the violet anomaly in the distance.

* * *

It barely took me a minute to arrive at my destination and it was a breathtaking sight to behold from this close. It also came with the realization that the towering monolith wasn't a solid pillar, but rather a swirling tornado of violet fire that stretched for miles in every direction. In some places the wind blew sand from nearby dunes into the strange twister, the impact points erupted with fire and hungrily swallowed the added mass. That on itself was somewhat expected, however what was strange was that the grains of sand that merely grazed the sides were set on fire and incinerated without a trace soon after. Looking down at the base of the blazing inferno and seeing the sand around it remain completely untouched raised even more questions. What could not only set fire to _sand_, but straight up erase it from existence while leaving more of that same sand unharmed? What kind of firestorm was this-?

Firestorm…

My eyes widened in realization as I remembered Ozpin's words from years ago. A violet firestorm that erased anything it touched, be it human or otherwise. This was the site of their last duel?

"So this is divine power…" I stared at the wall of divine fire before me. The Relic of Destruction was used in their duel, wasn't it? That could possibly do something like this. Memories popped up in my mind, depicting the God of Darkness using these very flames to erase Ozma and later on all of humanity. Wanting to examine it a bit closer, I walked down from the top of a nearby sand dune and approached the anomaly. From this distance it looked stable enough and I could make out faint footprints in the sand not far from it, meaning that someone had been here recently and that it was safe to traverse this close to the storm.

My standpoint changed exceptionally fast when I was around halfway there and my eyes decided to act on their own. Pressure built up inside them faster than ever before and discharged itself before I could even tell what was happening. The area around me was basked in bright light and I took a step back in surprise.

My vision returned soon after like normal, but I was perplexed as to what exactly happened as my eyes never did this before. I didn't get much time to ponder on this however, as movement in front of me drew my attention. The wall of hellfire visibly recoiled at the sudden flash of light and swirled aggressively in place like some wounded organism. I furrowed my brows in confusion at that. What was going on with my eyes and why did that fire move around like it was alive…?

"What the-?" I was cut off by the sudden eruption of those violet flames. In the blink of an eye they burst from their position and covered the entire area up to the dune I originally came from. They were so fast that they reached and enveloped me before I could even react. The fire then receded back to its original position as fast as it came and left me standing there with a positively terrified expression.

"…Thank the Gods my Semblance is so broken," I laughed awkwardly to myself, trying and failing to alleviate the terror I felt after whatever that was. It was too close for comfort even for me. If Kamui's intangibility hadn't been literally the fastest thing on Remnant, I wouldn't even be a pile of ash on the ground, I would have been straight up erased from existence.

"With the threat of being struck down by God out of the way, what the hell just happened?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. For some reason my eyes reacted to those flames' proximity and vice versa, but why? The only reason that made some sense was tied to their origins, but if that were the case…

I channeled Aura to my eyes and marveled at what I was seeing.

I was seeing nothing, and not in the sense of darkness that most people would assume, but _nothing. _The portion of my vision where I should've been seeing the flames was missing, it was like the universe beyond an imaginary line in the sand simply didn't exist. Deciding to test a possible theory of mine, I took hold of an old throwing knife I had, channeled Aura into it and threw it at the abyss before me. Sure enough, after crossing that imaginary line the glow of my Aura ceased to exist.

"So that's how it is," I murmured thoughtfully. "I guess I just discovered the dark equivalent of the Lumia flames." It was an interesting but simple conclusion, my eyes only worked in the presence of manifestations of darkness. These violet flames were the darkest objects I have ever seen, similarly how the Lumia flames were the brightest lights in existence. No wonder my eyes reacted the way they did, being suddenly exposed to each other's polar opposite must be jarring for both forces.

It was a fascinating discovery that raised even more questions than it answered, but sadly I wasn't here to answer them at the moment, I had leads to track. I looked pointedly at the trail of footprints glowing with a subtle golden light. Following the trail towards its source I caught glimpse of a speck of red.

I warped myself over to the familiar Aura signature without a second of hesitation and found myself on top of a sand dune, overlooking a small camp of tents, crates and a put out campfire, however none of these things held my attention for longer than a split second as I stared at the life-size ice sculpture of Raven. She was clearly in distress, with one hand reaching forwards and with another reaching for her missing scabbard.

I narrowed my eyes at it and looked around suspiciously, this could be a trap and that statue could be just some Aura infused ice used as a lure, but I didn't see anyone home and I doubted Salem's followers expected someone to mount a rescue mission. From their perspective they captured a Silver Eyed Warrior and a rogue Huntress that came to rescue her.

Not to mention that the statue's Aura level was stable, if it was some lure then it would gradually weaken over time.

I warped myself before it and examined it closely, the ice was hazy but I could still make out Raven's familiar pale skin and unique outfit under it, there was no mistaking it, it was her. I placed a hand on her outstretched arm and frowned in confusion; the ice wasn't cold, it was closer to room temperature and it wasn't even melting in the middle of the desert, which made no sense whatsoever. My eyes travelled to her face, much of it was hazy but I could clearly make out her unblinking red eyes staring straight ahead.

She was clearly alive, her Aura proved so, but how? At most she has been like this for an entire week. How could she eat or even breathe with a cocoon of ice around her? And why wasn't the ice cold? It made no sense, unless…

Raven has been literally put on ice; this was the magical equivalent of putting someone in stasis.

This wasn't a lure for a trap, but simply a package waiting for transport…

"Oh, a visitor. I wonder what's someone doing this far out in the Red Sands." I snapped my head around towards the source of the voice. Standing near my previous position on the sand dune was a woman in her late twenties garbed in a tan cloak and dark pants. She had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, somewhat pale skin and a suspiciously friendly smile. It may have been my foreknowledge induced paranoia speaking, but the huge buster-sword similar in design to Qrow's Harbinger strapped across her back didn't go well with her friendly demeanor.

"…I'm looking for someone," I answered and stepped away from Raven. "Her name is Summer Rose, mid-thirties, mid-length deep red hair, overly friendly and usually wears a white cloak…" I listed as I turned to her with a narrowed visible eye. "…she also has Silver Eyes, you hadn't seen her by any chance?"

The woman put a finger to her mouth in a mock thinking manner and hummed to herself, I admit she may have been somewhat attractive looking, but I had a gut feeling that would be just about the only positive thing I would observe about her. "Hmm, interesting you mention that, I maybe had a run-in with her some time ago. But I have to ask why you would follow her this far away from civilization, surely you must be aware of the dangers out here?" She asked and began to close the distance between us with deliberate steps.

"I've made too many promises to turn back," I responded carefully, my eye never leaving her form.

"And we're all bound to our promises, I see," she nodded in understanding. "However, I must warn you that you're dealing with things you may not understand. Since you're only a child or a teen at best I'll let you walk away this time, no strings attached, but if you-"

"Save your breath."

Caught off guard by my interruption, she stopped in her tracks some distance away from me. I glared at her with my visible eye, not intimidated by her implied threat in the slightest.

"I know why she disappeared, I know about Salem and the secret war going on between her and Ozpin, in fact I most likely know more than you do," I told her dryly. Her friendly aura disappeared instantly, but for some reason her smile never left her face.

"Oh, is that so? That's a pretty dangerous claim you're making," she noted with a strange edge to her tone.

"I'm aware of the consequences and I'm not afraid of them in the slightest."

"Are you sure about that? More have died for less," she asked with a raised eyebrow and that ever-present smile, it was getting a bit unsettling.

"Somehow I doubt that would be the case here," I told her blandly. "…So, how about a wager then?" My sudden suggestion made her lose her smile momentarily and regard me with confusion.

"A wager?"

"Yes, I think we both know where this conversation's headed and at this rate one of us isn't going to walk away from this. Neither of us wants that, so how about we don't escalate this to a straight up deathmatch… only just a regular fight where the one who's Aura drops below one-fifths surrenders without any bloodshed," I shrugged and crossed my arms under my cloak. "If I win, I get to take this statue here and you'll have to tell me everything you know of what happened to Summer Rose. After that you're free to do whatever you wish, I'll even allow you to scurry back to your mistress if that's what you want." My glare intensified at the stupefied woman. She stared at me for several seconds before chuckling to herself.

"You've got some nerve, I'll give you that. But I fail to see how this would benefit me in the slightest, not to mention what's stopping me from killing you right here and now." That unsettling smile returned to her face and she regarded me with amusement.

I paused for a moment and internally sighed, I hoped this would do the trick. My cloak parted in the middle and my hands went to pull down my hood. The woman regarded me curiously and her eyes widened in understanding when I removed my mask and exposed my familiar features and blazing Silver Eyes.

"I may not know what you're doing with our kind, but I know that you're trying to collect us," I addressed her in a measured tone. "Trying to capture someone alive is a hassle in on itself, they try to resist and fight back at first and sometimes they die accidentally, but then they try to escape afterwards, it's a pain really. So to give you some incentive, if you win our fight, I won't resist in the slightest. You can take me straight to Salem and I'll be the model prisoner the entire time," I offered and waited for a response. She just regarded me with an expression that I had a hard time deciphering and a tense silence descended between us. The distant and deep whizzing sounds of the violet firestorm and the weak, dry wind bellowing the tents and our clothes were the only sounds between us for a few long moments. That is until a crack formed in her façade.

"Oh, I see, I see…" She chuckled to herself, but to my surprise those chuckles quickly evolved into full blown laughter and that smile turned into a face splitting grin. I took an involuntary step back at seeing that quick change of attitude and grabbed hold of four of my knives under my cloak. "-I see how it is! Very well, I accept your challenge!" She declared once her laughter subsided a bit. "It's not every day I run into a Silver Eyed Warrior, let alone a fully-fledged one. I sometimes forget how fun your whole lot can be. Sadly, Tyrian got to handle the last one and I only got there in time for the finale, so maybe you can entertain me for a while. Come then, let's take our business away a bit, wouldn't want to accidentally damage our bargaining chip, now would we?" She gestured to Raven's frozen form while laughing to herself. She then turned to the side and started walking straight ahead without a care in the world. I reigned in my bewilderment and made to walk parallel to her with the same gap between us as before.

"Can I ask you something?" I voiced cautiously as the distance between us and the camp grew.

"What is there for us to talk about?" She asked mirthfully. I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Why do you follow Salem? Why are you loyal to her?" Whatever she expected me to say, it apparently wasn't that, because she actually paused for a second.

"What brought this question on?" She replied carefully.

"Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do. Most of them are understandable, even relatable, but some of them are irredeemable. I'll treat this confrontation in accord of your answer," I shrugged in response without looking at her.

"You're trying to see if I'm 'redeemable' is that it?" She shook her head with that same grin. "Your kind never ceases to amaze me with their 'nobility', but you're even more unpredictable than most. But to answer your question, it depends on your definition of loyalty, she merely made an offer that is too beneficial for me to decline," she responded with a scoff.

"What was it then? Money? Power? Revenge?" I listed with a side glance at her. I did believe in second chances; this life was my second chance and I was actively trying to better Raven and her whole lot. It would be hypocritical of me to deny the chance of someone willing to change.

But if they refuse or waste it, then oh well, may they rest forever in hell.

"Oh, nothing so complicated I assure you," the blonde woman responded longingly and stopped her walk. I did likewise and we turned to face each other, the camp was still in viewing distance, but we were far enough to not damage it.

"In my years of wandering, fighting and surviving in these harsh deserts, I've come to realize something. Life is a fickle and fleeting thing, it can be taken away in the blink of an eye and even so, many squander it," she paused for a moment and closed her eyes with a blissful smile. "Life is too short to waste on inconsequential things like you mentioned, instead one must seek joy while they're able to, it's the only way to live a fulfilling life. What this happiness is differs from person to person, it can be fulfilling a dream or even finding true love and starting a family, but what brings the greatest joy for me is…" She trailed off as her right hand appeared from her cloak and caressed her own cheek, for some reason her hand was shivering.

My expression faltered momentarily as a wave of apprehension washed over me at those words. For some reason my gut told me I wouldn't like what was to come…

"…Battle." She opened her eyes and released a wistful sigh. "…The fateful encounter between people trying to end one another's existence, when the adrenaline floods your veins and instinct takes over. The intoxicating feeling of the outside world ceasing to exist and only you and your opponent becoming the only variables that matter. When you're no longer humans, but forces of nature with a single drive to survive, to remain standing while the other's lifeblood covers the ground! It is the greatest ecstasy!" During her monologue, her voice got steadily louder and a face-splitting, manic grin parted her face.

She spread her arms in front of her like a preacher addressing a crowd and her eyes gained a mad gleam to them. "Salem understood my desires and approached me with an offer. I would serve her and become a harbinger of her will in the world, and in exchange she would provide me with worthy entertainment until the day of my death! I have served her for years and she never once failed to deliver on her promise, I've got to witness more people taking their last breaths than I've dared to dream! I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life!" She laughed madly while I regarded her with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Does that satisfy your curiosity?" She asked between a few stray chuckles one she had calmed down enough.

"You're utterly insane…" I muttered under my breath and shook my head. Whoever this woman was, she was just as bad as Tyrian, in which case I had to be especially on guard, their type was unpredictable and illogical which was a deadly combination. My eyes hardened and I reached under my cloak for Attero. I pressed a button on its handle and twirled the weapon in front of me as it transformed in my hand.

This modified version of Attero was a lot more compact then what I've had designed originally and the maintenance on it was going to be a pain thanks to all the moving parts, but against an opponent like her the faster mecha-shift and better ergonomics would help immensely. The weapon in storage mode, which was the shaft with two elephant gun barrels pointed in each direction with their corresponding triggers on the side, was only the length of my arm, but that changed fast when two segmented blades emerged between the paired gun barrels and tripled the weapon's overall length. The now fully deployed double-bladed sword stood as high as I did, courtesy of my limited height, and its slightly curved blades gleamed proudly under the setting sun. I settled into a combat stance with Attero behind my back and pointed diagonally at the ground, while I clutched the four throwing knives in my left hand, just barely visible under my cloak.

"Before we begin, may I ask a question in return?" The blond seemed nonplussed at my preparations and asked away.

"What is it?" I asked cautiously.

"What's your name?" I blinked at the unexpected question and looked at her suspiciously, prompting her to elaborate. "I make sure to remember the names of every valiant opponent that I've crossed blades with, I would especially like to remember the name of the person who went out of his way to challenge me," she explained with barely contained excitement. For a moment it occurred to me that maybe it was a trap or something along those lines, but dismissed the thought immediately after, there was no advantage to be gained by knowing my name, they already captured Summer and could easily run her family name through kingdom records for potential matches.

"…My name is Caryll Rose," I answered hesitantly. She hummed and nodded with a satisfied smile. She closed her eyes and I immediately felt a change in the air around us. The slight breeze picked up suddenly and the sand shifted subtly as it vibrated beneath our feet. I glanced around, alarmed at the sudden changes, but my opponent's voice quickly recaptured my attention.

"Hello, Caryll Rose, the Silver Eyed Warrior. I'm Konan, the Summer Maiden." Her eyes snapped open and golden flames burst from them as a proof of her claim. The sky darkened as storm clouds formed out of nothing and thunder roared above our heads. Her shaking right hand reached for the handle of her sword and grasped it with deliberate slowness.

"And I hope you'll enjoy these coming minutes as much as I will," she regarded me with a bloodthirsty grin.

* * *

_It was at this moment Caryll knew, he fucked up._

_As you can see, I decided to go with the name Lumia for the flames, which is an offshoot of the latin word lumen, or light. It was also suggested by the guest reviewer Hmason, though his version contained an extra n._

_Well, a completely OC character appears in the story. I'll say this now, because I know the reception OCs get in most communities, I may use throw-away characters that get mentioned once or twice, __**but Theo will be the only long term, recurring OC in the entire story. **__All other recurring characters are established and listed so you can rest easy. With that said, I spent an ungodly amount of time making her character to be better than what you'd normally expect, seeing as she will be playing an important role in the plot with a few others. _

_Another note that I'd like make is that I've based her off of a character in mythology/fairy tales, I'm curious to see if you guys can find out which, just to see if I need to be more subtle with my writing or not._

_Attero is latin for entropy, decay and disruption among other things._

_No omake here because too long chapter, plus I wanted to put it out as fast as I could, but next chapter I'll write two, I promise._

_**Reviews:**_

_Blaze2121: Caryll wouldn't shy away from killing if it came down to it, in fact I can safely say that he will kill people up close and personal even in this Act. What he meant is that people dying from the consequences of his __**mistakes**__ is just wrong and unacceptable. Of course as you could see in this chapter, killing isn't his first solution when it comes to potential enemies; he instead offers them a fair chance before things turn sour, but after that all bets are off, especially if he thinks they are a genuine threat to his goals or family._

_Regarding moves and things like that, nothing really comes to mind right now, I've already planned out all of his fights in Act 2 and nothing really stands out as something from another franchise, most of his moves will be Kamui/team combo related or will be somewhat original moves._

_And yeah, depending on the result of the poll, canon is either partially or entirely thrown out the window._

_I promise man, I'm currently fleshing that omake out and it will be done with the next chapter._

_EdgyBro: Our little Silver Eyed boi is only 10 as of now. Regarding his relationship with Ozpin, well he will play a role in Caryll's journey later on and the two will have interactions and a bit of plot going on between them. His origins will be addressed __**much**__ later down the line and will play a minor role in a sub-plot._

_Guest(Hainz): I should watch Fate/stay night, seriously everyone keeps telling me that Caryll is like Shirou, but I honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about, lol._

_Guest:… Oh boy, powerscaling RWBY and Naruto characters is just a recipe for disaster… but meh, I'll try anyway._

_End-of-TSEP Caryll is one of the, if not the most powerful Hunter to have ever existed in Remnant, easily on par with fully realized Maidens and the First Hunters in terms of combat ability, however he is still a Hunter. He's a skill based fighter, not a walking nuke like Naruto._

_The outcome of a death battle between Naruto and Caryll depends on two things; _

_1: Is SO6P Naruto faster than double Kamui? If not, Caryll wins by warping Naruto's head away, if yes; 2: Is Caryll fast enough to tag Naruto with his own variation of the Kamui-Raikiri? If yes, he wins._

_Kamui is shown to be even faster than Amenominaka, something that easily kept up with Naruto, and even surprised him. Yet we can't discount Naruto's speed, which by that point would far surpass Caryll's (Naruto's highly relativistic, Caryll's only high lightning timer). Personally, I doubt Caryll could tag Naruto, leaving only the Kamui argument for Caryll's victory._

_All in all, I believe that SO6P Naruto just isn't the right opponent for Caryll. However, other versions could show their balance better.  
Sage mode Naruto: Easy win for Caryll, would win 10/10 times.  
KCM1 Naruto: Mid difficulty win for Caryll, Naruto's speed gets amped to the sky, Caryll would win 8/10 times.  
KCM2 Naruto: It's at this point where Naruto's destructive power and speed just grows too large for Caryll to confidently handle, I would say that at this point they are balanced and the battle could go either way, 5/10.  
KCM2+Sage Naruto: Mid difficulty win for Naruto, Caryll would simply be overwhelmed like Obito was._

_But in reality, they would meet, fight and before either could deal a finishing blow, Naruto uses Talk no Jutsu and they become buds. They bond over ramen and cookies while sharing stories of their adventures._

_Team ASHE is an interesting case where anything I say would be a massive spoiler, so I'm just gonna say that each of them are roughly low-to-mid-Kage level, but their teamwork is so great they could hunt tailed beasts, defeat any one of the five Kage and even go toe to toe with most Akatsuki members._

_Until next time._


	17. Chapter 17

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the seventeenth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. This is a special upload as some of you could have guessed already. Seeing as this story just had its anniversary not so long ago (and because for once, I didn't want to leave off on a cliffhanger), I decided to crack my knuckles and release not one, but two chapters one after the other to celebrate this occasion._

_**Important note:**__ Multiple people seem to have this misconception that Silver Eyes counter magic. I have no idea how this headcanon survived past the Vol 3-4 days, but allow me to debunk this silly notion before we even get into the chapter, otherwise I get that feeling that some would cry bloody murder because I 'nerfed Silver Eyes'._

_-Ruby used her Silver Eyes during the battle of Haven. Out of all the magic users present at the time (which contained not only Cinder, but the Branwen twins and Oscar/Ozpin (So two Maidens, a person who can magically turn into a bird and an immortal wizard), only Cinder was hurt, no one else even batted an eyelash._

_But TRP, Ruby didn't want to hurt them, just Cinder so the blast only affected her! Yeah, that doesn't work either because Maria literally says in her explanation of Silver Eyes to Ruby that they can't be used with the intent to harm, only with the intent to protect. _

_-During the Vol 7 finale Ruby uses her eyes again against Cinder while Penny, the new Winter Maiden, is in the same room. Again, only Cinder was forced to retreat, Penny just did her thing and mourned the previous Maiden._

_-Bonus: During the Vol 6 flashback the GoL uses a Silver Eyes burst against the Grimm surrounding him. Again, only the Grimm are hurt, no other magic user is harmed. Salem looks around confusedly and GoD just seems annoyed that his older brother broke his toys with his flashlight._

_Silver Eyes only work against Grimm and manifestations of darkness, not magic. Cinder was only hurt by them at the Battle of Beacon because she had the Grimm beetle/parasite in her at the time. After that, her Grimm arm was what made her vulnerable to Silver Eyes._

_Thanks for Ikasuki for Beta-ing this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 17: Argentum et aurum**

The ground under the darkened sky trembled and the sand shifted due to the fierce whirlwind present, all courtesy of the artificial storm brewing above our heads. I can confess that admission caught me off guard and it did take me a few moments, but I did manage to reign in my bewilderment and look at the self-proclaimed Maiden before me.

"So, you're a Maiden, I didn't think I'd have to battle one of your kind this soon," I observed, seemingly nonchalant, internally though I was frowning sourly. Of course, my rotten luck would ensure that my opponent was a magic user.

Personally, I held nothing against the Maidens, they were just people that got an arguably bad hand in life, but magic itself took all the rules of combat Remnant had and threw them out the window. Normally fights would be decided by skill, Aura, Dust and Semblances, the more strategic one was with these tools, the more likely victory was. Aura was the most important resource of a Hunter, it protected oneself and fueled Semblances. By feeling out an opponent's skill level one could exert just enough energy to defeat them and conserve as much Aura as possible. Semblances were a game changer, albeit a minor one at that, once you figured them out you could circumvent them entirely and realign the playing field as it was before. Dust could be used to achieve the same, however it was a finite resource that didn't replenish unlike Aura. One could argue that a fight between Hunter level combatants was decided by resource management skills and strategy.

And then there was magic.

Magic was a seemingly limitless resource and it wasn't tied to Aura. It was a game changer like Semblances and Dust, but it was infinitely more versatile. One could figure out a specific technique just like with Semblances and counter them, but then the magic user can just pull out another technique out of thin air again and again, forcing their opponent to play catch-up and forfeit the initiative entirely. Magic transformed fights from being decided by skill and strategy to strength and endurance.

Just the two qualities I lacked, wonderful.

"You seem to have an inkling of an idea of what power you're facing and yet you're not frightened. I wonder why that is," Konan inquired and unholstered her sword. The massive blade was planted into the sand, its owner holding it by the handle and waiting patiently for a reply.

"Maidens faded into obscurity for a reason just like Silver Eyed Warriors," I answered with a shrug. "Your kind is hunted for the power they wield like mine is. You were forced to hide from the real world because you're not strong enough to fight back. I don't see how this battle will be any different," I told her coldly. This would be far from my first fight with a Maiden, even if Lily was just only beginning to grow into her powers, she could be mean with her magic assisted Semblance. Of course, this would be far more challenging than my simple spars with Lily, but they did provide me with some experience and the principle behind the two scenarios was the same.

Our options were limited, she couldn't unleash her full power to fight me, lest she accidentally breaks our agreement or kills me. Likewise, I couldn't just capture her in Kamui and let her starve to death. I needed her alive and willing to talk, not to mention that starvation and dehydration would take days to force someone into cooperation, days that I didn't have in my race against the clock.

"Oh, you intend to hunt me, is that it? What an amusing thought," she chuckled and the golden flames bursting from her eyes disappeared, consequently the skies cleared up and the ground stopped shaking as well. I lowered my guard slightly in surprise and regarded her with a confused expression.

"You're not going to use your power?"

"This is merely entertainment for me, squashing you like a bug right at the start wouldn't be any fun," Konan stated with a tone that I would normally associate with mockery, but hearing her earlier confession told me that she was serious.

"You don't think I'm a threat." I narrowed my eyes at her and tightened my hold on Attero in preparation.

"Prove me wrong then, show me that you're not to be taken lightly," she scoffed with a challenging grin. She then pulled her sword out of the ground and rested it against her shoulder.

Eager to do just that, I threw the four knives in my hand at the ground between us. The resulting explosion broke direct line of sight between us, or at least hers, since my glowing eyes had no problem seeing her through the fireball. I dashed to the right and angled Attero behind me to imitate what my youngest sibling would be so fond of doing in the future. I pulled one of the triggers on the shaft and the corresponding gun barrel discharged, propelling me through the smoke screen towards Konan with overwhelming force.

But even with the surprise of coming in fast at an unexpected angle on my side, she merely sidestepped my strike and let me fly past her with a smile on her face. I twisted mid-air and pushed myself away from the ground with a hand, then fired again at the sky. The action sent me flying back in her direction, set to impact at the exact spot she was standing at. Konan merely seemed amused and swung her blade to deflect my strike. Metal met metal with an eruption of sparks before momentum carried me over her head and returned me to the ground.

Without pause I fired at the ground again and let go of Attero, letting the recoil send the blade sailing to her back. The mad Maiden didn't even bother to turn around and simply brought her massive sword against her back to act as a shield. Attero was sent away spinning from the collision, but two violet crystals lit up just below the twin blades and the sword flew back to my open palm for another strike. This time I aimed lower at her leg and fired my last bullet behind me. As expected her sword deflected mine into the sand, but it was just a distraction for another attack anyways, I used my planted sword as a pole to stand on with my hand and delivered a kick to her head.

To my dismay, she caught my foot just before it could make contact with her, leaving me upside down in an awkward position with my cloak falling over my face.

"Ah," she shook her head in a disappointed manner. "That last kick almost caught me off guard, I'll give you that, but otherwise you remind me of that previous Silver Eyed woman," she told me and threw me over her head. I let out a surprised cry at the strength behind the action but managed to orient myself to land on my feet without any problems.

"How so?" I narrowed my eyes at her and took the apparent lull on the fight to absentmindedly reload my weapon.

"She was so fast and yet so predictable. Utterly boring," she frowned distastefully. "She could have provided an enjoyable challenge, but there was no passion behind her actions and it caused her performance to be lackluster. A waste of talent really," Konan sighed in disappointment.

I simply glared at her venomously in response. She was partially responsible for what happened to her and now she was talking down to her?

I shook my head; I couldn't let my thoughts wander away from the fight. Strange insults aside, she did just provide me with a useful piece of information, intentionally or not. Summer and I are faster than her by a good margin, her reaction speed is good enough to keep up with us, but not much else, she only managed to block my blows because she was expecting them, meaning that she had way more battle experience than either of us. If I were to use more unorthodox methods, she would be much more vulnerable. I looked at her shining golden Aura to get a gauge of her reserves and hummed, her Aura pool was a bit larger than Summer's, that coupled with the silent threat of her being able to reactivate her powers at any time put me at a disadvantage in both stamina and strength.

My Semblance could nullify all of her advantages for a while, but with her experience I didn't doubt she could figure it out relatively quickly, Summer and Raven were able to too after all. If she did that too, things could get messy… so I had one shot to make this work.

And so, our fight would be decided between my speed and skill and her strength and experience.

I resumed our battle by throwing an Inferno knife in her direction, the knife transformed into a large fireball mid-flight and left behind a trail of scorched sand as it flew forwards. The golden flames around Konan's eyes briefly returned and she moved her a hand in a sweeping motion before her. A gust of wind surged from the motion and met the approaching attack head on, forcing the fireball to brighten momentarily and then disperse to the sides. I jumped up into the air from the shadow of the fireball and threw several Lightning knives at her as I arced above her head. Konan dodged the blades by hopping in the direction of the dispersing flames, just beside where my arc would carry me.

I landed on the ground and was immediately forced to move as the madwoman's blade cut through the air horizontally, aiming to bisect me. Not keen on letting that happen, I sprung from the ground, just managing to avoid the massive sword moving below me, and grabbed her shoulder with one hand. I used her as an impromptu handhold to stand on with one hand, for one moment the world slowed down and our gazes met each other, mine sharp and calculative and hers slightly surprised and… excited?

Jingoistic psycho.

Time moved onwards and inertia caused me to do a flip over her and land on the waiting buster-sword that just finished its swing. I didn't give her time to react and levelled one of Attero's barrels at her head, pulling the corresponding trigger without hesitation. The recoil launched me a short distance, but the .700 round did much more to Konan. She was knocked forwards, right into the cluster of scattered Lightning knives form earlier. Spheres of electricity enveloped her position while I touched down on the ground and pointed Attero behind me. Another discharge sent me flying after her, Attero's blade poised to strike at her likely recovering form. Or at least, that was my intention, but the blond surprised me by parrying my weapon into the sand, apparently completely unaffected by the electric shock from earlier. Her other hand clamped down on my throat and lifted me up into the air.

Apparently I wasn't unorthodox enough.

"That attempt was slightly better than hers, but still not good enough." Her hold tightened to inhuman levels and I was forced to let go of my weapon and let out strangled gasps. Aura was a wonderful thing, but it didn't protect from asphyxiation. "Oh, what a disappointment this turned out to be, but no matter, you'll at least make another fine trophy," she let out a disheartened sigh and flared her powers again, consequently ice crystals spurt from her hand and spread to encase my neck area with no obvious intention of stopping just there.

This was bad, I had to get out of here. Kamui would help, but it would be revealed too early- I can work with that actually.

My hand blurred to my bag and pulled out an Inferno knife to stab her in the throat. As expected, Konan's other hand caught mine before the blade could touch her and she regarded me with an amused expression. That changed incredibly fast when I shifted my fingers to reveal the shining Dust crystal in its injection port. A large explosion engulfed the both of us and served as a distraction to slip through her ice with my Semblance and retreat to safety, unharmed from the explosion. She would think the detonation forced her to let go of me, thus preserving the secrecy of my Semblance for just a bit longer.

I called my weapon back to my hand and reloaded it while waiting for the smoke to disperse. Once it did, I was greeted with the still standing form of the crazy Summer Maiden just looking at me with an eerie smile.

"I stand corrected, you are fun. Perhaps all that confidence wasn't just a bluff," she huffed and shook her head, she then lifted the arm that caught my knife, causing me to flinch at the sight. It was burned and bloodied with still burning pieces of Dust sizzling in some wounds. Surprise gave away to confusion as I realized that her Aura should have protected her from that, why didn't it-

"Ahh, a battle can't be truly enjoyed without raging blood!" An abundance of golden Aura washed over her arm and healed all of her wounds in a matter of seconds. The healed hand then went to rest on her chest, right over her heart. "I can already feel my heart pound with excitement! Come on, show me what other tricks you have up your sleeve! Don't hold anything back!" She shouted with an intoxicated look.

I stared at her.

Of course, it would be the masochistic lunatic that would intentionally let them themselves get injured to get off of it.

Why couldn't have I fought someone else? Maybe not Tyrian, but Hazel or Watts? Or young Cinder, she could be fun to mess with while I toyed around with her, but no, it had to be one of the crazies, why?

"Oh, you won't move? Then I'll have to make you move!" The golden flames now remained as a seemingly permanent addition to her visage as they flickered weakly around her eyes. She raised an open palm and then clenched her fist. My eyes picked up movement underground, turning to look down below I could see a golden blob of energy race below the sand, it was heading straight for me. I narrowed my eyes at it and jumped away to avoid whatever that was. Not a moment later, a spike of molten glass and iron burst from the ground where I stood a moment before.

I landed a bit away, but froze in surprise when the blob didn't disappear and was racing just as fast as before to my current location. I was forced to move as molten spikes erupted from the ground whenever I touched down, the only thing keeping me one step ahead of them being my Aura vision's ability to predict their movement. After dodging the umpteenth spike by doing a last minute handspring I focused my attention back to Konan, she was still standing in place, seemingly focused on something. Guessing that she was probably focused on controlling that golden energy, I hurled Attero in her direction like a boomerang while evading the pursuing spikes. Konan raised her sword to deflect the attack, however the Lightning Dust in the weapon activated at the last second and covered the spinning blades in a layer of electricity.

Trying to block electricity with metal isn't the best idea, as Konan learned when the charged blade impacted her own and promptly caused her arm to seize up and force her to stop with her attack. Attero was still deflected aside, but the violet strings connecting it to me soon returned it to my waiting hand.

She grinned madly at me when she regained control of her limb and blurred towards me from her spot. She quickly closed the distance between us and began aggressively swinging her sword at me in wide arcs. These strikes were accompanied by her off-hand trying to grapple me between dodges and attacks, that in itself wouldn't be alarming, but the small sphere of blue magic and electricity resting in her palm certainly was. I didn't know exactly what that sphere would do if it made contact with me, but judging by the devastating effects her previous attacks had, I had no doubt it would be anything pleasant.

My assumption was confirmed when I redirected Konan's overextended hand into the ground and a blast of concussive force, accompanied by the sound of thunder, blew us apart. We landed haphazardly on the ground and took a moment to get our bearings. She cracked her neck with a light cackle and charged at me again. We became mobile, her ferocious attacks carved through air, sand and stone with inhuman strength while she used her off-hand to alter between that lightning ball and the freezing strike she seemed so fond of using. Our fight eventually led us back to the vicinity of the camp, by this time night was fast approaching and a nearby mesa cast long shadows over the camp and a sizeable canyon in the area.

Even with the nigh constant use of highly destructive powers, she still didn't seem the least bit tired, I mused with a wince and was forced to dodge both a swing from her sword and a follow-up freeze strike. Having had enough of that, I retreated with an Aura powered jump and put a fair distance between us. Interestingly, Konan didn't follow at first and let me catch my breath.

"You're a slippery one, just like that woman. But I wonder how long you can keep up," she called out with a challenging smirk.

Not much longer actually, my Aura was still well in the green, having been conservative with my Semblance had that effect, but it would only take one slip up for that to change-

It was time to end this charade. I already knew enough about her fighting style and abilities to make my move.

"I'll end this quickly then," I responded and took two specialty knives in my hand. The first part of the plan needed me to attempt 'Dust enhancement'. One of Nicholas' final lessons and one of the hardest techniques to pull off apparently, since it required mastery over glyphs and experience in Dust weaving. According to Nicholas' notes, Light Dust can be used to 'enhance' the effects of other Dust variants in surprising ways, however one could also amplify their base effects if they're skilled enough. Hotter flames, colder ice, higher voltage, it was all possible if the Dust Alchemist was skilled enough. It could prove effective against someone who seemed at least partially resistant to Dust attacks.

It was time to put all those theory lessons to practice. The symbol on my scarf lit up, courtesy of the Light Dust inside it, and small white glyphs travelled down the length of the two knives, leaving behind a subtle white glow in their wake. I threw the supercharged knives in Konan's direction and immediately followed after them. She scoffed and summoned a wind blast to meet the knives head on. One was sent spiraling high into the air while the other struck the ground just at the halfway point between me and her. The moment my feet touched the ground beside the fallen knife, I decided to start the next phase.

The Inferno knife at my feet detonated and engulfed me in a fireball significantly larger than normal, though not before I could send the activation command to the overpowered flashbang knife. Light Dust and Sonic Dust reacted violently and basked the area in blinding light and deafening noise, or at least I assumed they did, thanks to being phased to another dimension inside the blast, I couldn't experience the effects first hand. A moment passed and I reemerged on the other side of the explosion unharmed, Konan wasn't so lucky and clutched her eyes and ears in agony. Exploiting the opening, my feet carried me in her direction fast as lightning, Attero poised to pierce her chest.

But before I could attempt to skewer her, Konan regained some of her senses and swung her sword horizontally in an attempt to ward me off. Time seemingly slowed down and resolute silver eyes met pained blue. Her eyes tracked her ever closing sword with growing confusion as I made no move to dodge, but that confusion was replaced with shock when her blade sailed through me harmlessly before I shifted through her as well. I came to a halt on the other side and fired backwards.

The surprised Maiden was knocked forwards, her Aura flaring in protest against the bullet, but she wasn't willing to give up the initiative. Still disoriented, she spun around to hit me with a lightning sphere, but a well-timed shot from Attero knocked her hand aside, right into her weapon hand. The concussive force knocked away the buster-sword from us and forced her a step back. I appeared in her guard and planted a supercharged Inferno knife in her chest. The unstable crystal glowed brightly before detonating in my hand. I was able to phase through the explosion, but Konan wasn't so lucky. She was knocked back again, disoriented and without a weapon she was now absolutely defenseless.

It was now only a matter of depleting her Aura.

I warped myself behind her and delivered a kick to her back, halting her momentum and making her stumble forwards. A split second later I appeared above her and drove her head into the ground with an axe kick before warping away again.

Konan got her feet shakily and tried to unleash her powers to force me away, but she was too slow in her dazed state. I reappeared before her and once again levelled Attero against her chest. The gun discharged and flew away into the sky as Konan lost her footing again. She tried to engage in a melee with one of her hands having a lightning sphere and the other having the freezing strike at the ready, but the timely introduction of a supercharged Lightning knife into the lightning sphere diffused the attack and caused a feedback reaction to occur. The blood-crazed Maiden's eyes contorted with pain and she snarled. I managed to sidestep the grappling attempt of her other hand and waved at her with a smile.

The Gravity Dust in my vambraces lost their glow and consequently stopped attracting Attero back to my hands, instead they let it fly to the position I was at a moment before.

Attero impacted Konan in the stomach and drove her into the ground. One final discharge sent her skidding in the sand and launched Attero back into my waiting hand.

I warped myself over the recovering Summer Maiden and grabbed her by the shoulder, a Kamui vortex then opened and transported her away into my Time-Space. I grabbed hold of a cluster of Inferno knives and looked up into the sky, an outbound portal shot Konan into the sky and I flicked the knives after her. Once the Dust blades caught up to her they detonated in unison, the blast wave would have turned most people into a charred and bloody mess, but Konan's Aura was something else as it still refused to break or even drop to one-fifth's. For the final part, I warped myself beside her falling form and opened an outbound portal form my eye. I activated the Light Dust in my scarf and tossed several Inferno knives into the spiraling vortex.

The result was a continuous torrent of flames expanding before my eyes. Konan took the full brunt of the attack, as evidenced by her rapidly diminishing Aura levels. I continued feeding Dust into the vortex as we fell to the ground, keeping the impromptu flamethrower going until we hit the ground and even then I waited for a few seconds before cutting the flames off.

The results were devastating, Konan's Aura barely retained its golden hue, a few more well aimed hits and it would break without question. The still smoking sand around her was turned into slag and cooling glass, her clothes were a bit singed but otherwise she seemed fine. I hummed to myself and walked up to her with deliberate steps. She made an attempt to rise from to ground with a pained grunt, but I planted a foot on her rising chest and forced her back into the scorching sand, causing her face to twist in pain and… pleasure? She made to say something, but the tip of Attero resting against her throat dissuaded her from any complaints.

"You've lost, now tell me everything you know," I commanded plainly. Being a conspirator in Summer's and Raven's disappearance didn't earn her any compassion from me.

"Oh yes, you've proven to be worthy entertainment, unlike that Silver Eyed woman," she chuckled and her expression evened out, no longer pained. "I wonder what someone like you wants from her…. Hmm, you two are alike in more than just mannerisms. Ah, tell me, who is she to you? A cousin or somebody closer? An aunt or maybe even your mother-?" My non-occupied foot was swiftly introduced to her cheekbones. The exchange was short and painful, and I hoped it would accentuate my point.

"If you have nothing useful to say, then our deal is off," I narrowed my eyes at her venomously. "Tell me what happened to Summer Rose."

"Mother it is…" Konan worked her jaw before giving me a bloody smile, freak. "Well, our words bind us, so I'll tell you what I can," she shrugged with a mock sigh. "Your mother is ether suicidal or has a bleeding heart, both seem just as likely to me."

"What did she do?" I asked hesitantly, not really willing to pick between those options myself.

"We were just about to… expend another one of your kind when she appeared here and intervened. Only Tyrian and the new guy, Hazel I think his name is, were here in that moment, so she may have thought she stood a chance against them and tried save your relative," she rolled her eyes amusedly. "It was entirely futile; the other Silver Eyed Warrior was quickly expended and they turned their focus entirely on her. I'm told she put up a decent fight, even managed to leave a memento on Tyrian's chest, but she was slowly whittled down." Her smile then disappeared and she gained a bored look on her face. "Then a phony Huntress appeared and they turned the tables on my colleagues, if I hadn't come back from my usual rounds they might have won too."

"I know what happened to her, but what about my mother?" I pressed, causing her to smile innocently.

"Oh, she's still alive if that's what you're asking, pretty banged up, but alive." At my fierce glare she elaborated, "it was a pretty boring fight all around, none of them proved to be even a slight challenge and Tyrian might have gotten carried away a bit as result."

"What did he do?" My mouth settled into a thin line.

"Missed a particular strike and clipped her heart. Oh, it was a wonderful sight, her blood provided a nice contrast to the sand as it spread all over-" once again, my boot found its mark on her cheek.

"Killjoy," Konan sighed and continued her tale. "I had to put her in stasis lest she bled out completely. I'm told she's been taken to Vacuo, to Watts for treatment. It took an entire week, but she's in stable condition now I believe, though not in any shape to move yet. The other Huntress was entirely too easy to take down while she was distracted, too busy looking at her bleeding flower I presume," she shrugged nonchalantly. I furrowed my brows in thought, compiling everything said so far… but something didn't add up.

"What did you mean by 'expend'? And why do you want us alive? Why are you collecting us?" I questioned confusedly, why go to such lengths as to eradicate an entire bloodline?

"Why, the very reason is standing right there," she nodded to the side and I followed her gaze with mine.

The violet firestorm?

"That fire is just as special as your eyes. It erases almost everything it comes into contact with, apparently it is a big enough obstacle that not even my mistress can cross it. Only Grimm are able to traverse it without any hassle, but for some reason they never return outside. The only beings capable of fighting these flames are your kind, and so we collect them to do so. Every person achieves more progress than the last," Konan explained jovially.

"What do you mean 'fight the flames'?"

"The fire and light your eyes produce can combat the dark flames, they lose every time simply because of the sheer disparity in scale, but the violet flames recede a little further with each clash," she explained, appearing bored with having to go into details.

"But the violet flames surge outwards after-… That's what you meant by 'expend', isn't it?" The fresh memory of that almost happening to me came into mind and my tone soured.

"Ahh, you're catching on! Dear Watts says it's a terribly inefficient process, but the look of shock on people's faces as they see their death approaching is simply delightful-" I'm pretty sure I would have kicked out multiple of her teeth if it weren't for her flickering Aura.

"Why would anyone willingly agree to this?" I questioned, using our eyes required conscious effort that can't be forced by- of course it can be, my eyes lashed out on their own when I approached the flames.

"Most of the time we don't need their consent, but for the more resilient ones… Well, my mistress' one-on-one chats can be very convincing," she drawled ominously. Of course, Summer either has superb mastery over her eyes or her Semblance allows her to escape the backlash. That would make her a valuable tool to Salem, something crucial to control and harness. That's why they let Raven live, blackmail against her if all other methods of persuasion fail.

Just how far does this sick scheme go?

"Why do this? What does she want here?" I asked my final question. What was the reason behind this systemic genocide? What was so important about those dark flames?

"I'm afraid not even I'm privy to that information, only Salem has a clear vision of what we're doing here," Konan replied with a shrug. I stared at her for a few minutes, searching for any signs of deceit, but ultimately finding none. She really didn't know and didn't care why they were here in the first place.

"…Thank you for your cooperation," I said at last and stowed Attero away. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind." I stepped off her chest and walked away towards the camp to free Raven. Maybe letting her go isn't the best choice, I was strongly tempted to let her just starve to death in another dimension, but she did uphold her end of the bargain, I wouldn't stoop below her level and go back on my word. Besides, she posed no immediate threat. I heard her move behind my back and get to her feet.

"What exactly makes you think this is over? My friend, the fun is only just beginning!" I heard her call out to me. I stopped in my tracks and looked back at her over my shoulder with glowing eyes.

"You're fresh out of Aura, don't make me kill you," I warned her one final time. Her Aura's golden hue was barely present. At this point it would only take a moment for me to break it and end her. I shook my head and resumed my walk.

"I assure you; I won't be the limiting factor in our pursuit of happiness!" She laughed madly and I could hear the wet squelching sound of something sinking into flesh from behind me. This time I stopped and turned around fully to look at her, my eyes growing with shock at what I was seeing.

She had produced a small knife out of somewhere and was currently sticking it right through her own arm. Pain morphed her face, causing her eyes to twitch and her teeth to against each other as her mouth slowly settled into a maniacal grin. With another squelch, she twisted the knife in her arm and let her blood drip onto the similarly colored sand. My shock however didn't only come from that disturbing action, even more alarming was the fact that her Aura levels spiked. The golden flames appeared around her eyes again, but they burned with more intensity than before.

"You've proven that you're not to be taken lightly, that you're a worthy challenge unlike those two from before. It's only common courtesy for me to take you seriously!" She declared while removing the offending knife and moved her arms beneath her cloak. It got thrown aside to be carried away by the wind and revealed the clothing it covered up to this point. She wore what I could only describe as a somewhat thick, yet flexible citrine battle-dress that had dull grey armor plates woven into it at the thighs, midsection and shoulders. One of the sleeves was partially burnt off, courtesy of her decision of taking that previous explosion head on. It also left her injured arm in full view, the deep wound was already closing slowly thanks to her rapidly replenishing Aura.

"You were suppressing your Aura the whole time…?" It was the only logical conclusion I could come up with as I stared at her climbing Aura levels, just now it passed the brightness it started the battle with and it showed no signs of stopping. "Why hold back? Why tell me what I wanted to know?" I questioned with a baffled expression. Who in their right mind would actively suppress their Aura in the middle of a fight and then intentionally stab themselves-?

"I've told you that there would be no fun in crushing you instantly. Besides, what adult uses their full strength when playing with mere children? Though it looks like that sentiment is inaccurate in your case," she replied with a smug smirk forming on her face. "As for our deal… Well, consider it compensation for such a wonderful time." That confirmed it, she was a deranged lunatic without a semblance of sanity left in her…

"Just what the hell are you?" I muttered with wide eyes as her Aura began to wildly fluctuate between the strength of Summer's and Nicholas', which was just physically impossible as far as I knew. Nicholas trained and fought for more than half a century, that was the only reason it was possible for him to have that much. Then here was Konan, who was in her late twenties at best having a similar amount, even for brief amounts of time, how? I don't care how much she fought or what kind of training she underwent, there should be no feasible way for her to even come close to Nicholas… Was I missing something? What could allow this and be so inconspicuous to not be noticed? And why wasn't Konan keeping her Aura stable in the first place?

Whatever the case, with this much Aura for defense and her magic for offense, it hardly felt like I was facing a human anymore, rather-

"A walking calamity," She answered excitedly, apparently having heard my question. "You realize it, don't you? The sheer gap of power between us? That you can't win, no matter what tricks you pull? Oh, I shiver to think what you'll do. Will you try to flee like a frightened animal, or will you fight-" Not caring for her stupid monologue in the slightest, I shot forward with an extended hand, intent on sending her into my Time-Space. Konan reacted by calling forth a dome of golden energy around herself, not unlike the one I recall Ozpin using. It's rather resilient if I remember correctly, but utterly useless against someone like me.

Undaunted by the obstacle before me, I passed right through it and made to grab Konan… only for me to slip through her and fly out of the dome on the other side. I quickly came to a halt and looked back at her with an expression of bewilderment. What the hell just happened? Why didn't I rematerialize-?

"You have a unique Semblance, I have encountered hundreds in my lifetime, but nothing that's quite like yours… except your mother's," Konan called out smugly from inside her barrier. Sharpening my gaze at it, I could make out minute arcs of golden electricity discharge all around her… "They may seem different at first, but I had a hunch the same defense can be utilized to counter them. And it looks like I was proven right after all!" My eyes widened in understanding and apprehension; she had created a counter for Summer's Semblance during their fight… The inside of the barrier must be charged with electricity that would disintegrate Summer's petals, barring her from getting inside and directly striking Konan, meanwhile the barrier itself would need overwhelming force to be broken…

Coincidentally, this exact same method worked against my Semblance too.

I have to rematerialize to attack, but I can't do that if an object or something harmful is in the way. The energy barrier forced me to slip through it and then the charged air inside kept me from rematerializing, but not harm Konan thanks to her basic resistance to the elements. My Aura could likely handle that charge too, but then I would have to crack open that barrier to get inside, that was the only way I could lay a finger on her.

I frowned minutely to myself, this was turning sour very fast. I may be ambitious and a bit headstrong, but I wasn't idiotic enough to enter a death battle with a deranged Maiden with an abnormally behaving Aura-

"Oh, and I wouldn't try escaping if I were you, unless of course you want her to die," Konan commented lightly and moved a hand in the direction of the camp, specifically Raven's frozen form. Consequently, dark storm clouds appeared over her, roaring with the sound of thunder. "I wonder what's faster, your ability to shift or a point-blank lightning bolt? I'm sure she's just dying to know as well!" She cackled loudly.

-And it looks like I'll have no choice in the matter. I wasn't keen on answering that question myself.

"What happened to holding back? Aren't you afraid of accidentally killing me?" I called out tersely, hoping against all odds that there was still a chance to salvage this situation. I probably shouldn't have bothered.

"Oh, you're just too fun to not push beyond the limits, this might be the most fun I had in years!" She exclaimed and dropped the barrier around her, I had no doubt she could erect it again at a moment's notice. She then held out a hand to the side. Water particles formed out of thin air alongside wisps of wind and they slowly coalesced into an oversized sword the length of a school bus. "And like you said, accidents can happen while trying to capture someone. I'm sure Salem would be content with you ending up in a body bag too if it came down to it," she added lightly as an after-thought and grasped the elemental blade.

"Now, with all this boring talk out of the way, you might want to savor these moments." She raised the blade in the air against the backdrop of the setting sun. My body tensed in anticipation and my anxious mind focused on a single goal…

"They might be your last!" She swung the blade downwards at the ground.

…To kill a Maiden.

The blade struck the ground with explosive force, causing the world around us to shake in upheaval. Sand blew in all directions and whistled past me, I put up an arm to shield my face while struggling against the sudden wind. A heartbeat later, cracks started to spread around the impact point like an intricate web. They expanded in all directions, rushing past even my position and soon tore up the ground around the entire area.

More movement underground caused me to kick off the ground in an effort to avoid any surprise attacks and let me watch from above as water burst from the fissures and grew to cover everything. Another blast of magical wind swept through our battlefield and froze the water solid, leaving the desert ground covered in a layer of solid ice. I wasn't allowed to wonder at the sight however, as gravity brought me back to land on the now arctic battlefield.

I didn't need to ponder on the purpose of this action for long, because Konan rushed at me with an overly large concentration of blue lightning magic in her hands. The upper layer of ice beneath our feet was already beginning to melt under the harsh desert sun and allowed her to slide at me with surprising speed. I moved to dodge the attack, but my feet slipped on the ice and I fell backwards with a cry of surprise.

I wasn't allowed time to even groan as Konan appeared above me with her hands poised to drive those lightning spheres through me. I instinctually pulled one of Attero's triggers and relied on the recoil of the gun to carry me away from harm's way. It wasn't a second too late, because the spheres of lighting impacted the ice where I once was and promptly obliterated everything around it. Sadly, I wasn't fast enough to outrun the proceeding shockwave and it launched me away with overwhelming force. I flew past the ice field with ringing ears and skidded on a sand dune before rolling straight into the gaping canyon I saw earlier. Having recovered my wits by that point, I threw a knife at the rock wall and pulled myself after it before I could fall further into the dark abyss below.

I clutched the knife embedded into the sandstone with an iron grip and took a moment to catch my breath and think. I had to kill Konan, she was too dangerous to be left alive at this point, simple as that. But there was the glaring problem of how to go about it. I couldn't take the easy route thanks to that damned… disruption field of hers. But getting into a slugfest with a Maiden like her alone is just insanity and yet it was my only option. I would have to use everything I learned so far, every trick in the book and more if I wanted to stand a chance at winning-

Huh, nothing like a seemingly impossible challenge.

I hummed to myself and planted a specialty knife in the wall beside me. The Earth and Gravity Dust lit up and caused a circular glyph to form around the knife. A moment later the glyph spun to life and began to dig into the sandstone earnestly. It soon disappeared from normal sight, leaving behind a faint violet string and a small tunnel in its wake.

The wonders of what quality equipment can achieve…

I shook my head, wishing I had these wonder knives just yesterday and threw a cluster of gravity knives at the wall above me. Violet glyphs sprung to life and allowed me to stand up and rush to the top of the canyon without any difficulty.

"I was wondering if I had to flush you out of there or not," I heard Konan call out once I came into view on the surface. I paid her little mind and planted a gravity knife at the edge of the canyon and at the top of the sand dune before turning to look at her standing impatiently on her constantly regenerating ice field.

"Let's just get this over with." I joined her on the ice, one of my vambraces trailing a faint violet string behind me. I needed to buy time for my plan to work. Without any further ado, I opened a vortex from my eye and spewed out a few dozen Inferno knives high up into the sky. Konan erected her barrier and disinterestedly watched the ascending knives still going skywards. Meanwhile, I struggled for a few seconds with my footing before settling into a stance and fired Attero behind me.

Ice skating in an artificial desert wasn't something I thought I'd ever try, but life plays out like that sometimes. Refocusing her attention on me, Konan dropped the barrier and began summoning another elemental blade to defend herself with. Unfortunately for her, that's what I wanted in the first place. The vambrace on my off-hand lit up and dozens of violet strings appeared form the control glyph hovering in my palm. The strings connected themselves to the knives up above and with a violent pull, yanked them back towards the older blond's direction. The barrage of knives impacted the ground around her and detonated in an orange-white fireball.

It was seemingly for naught; the smoke dispersed and revealed the golden dome of energy standing unharmed around a smug looking Konan. The smirk on her face soon vanished when she heard another shot coming from me. Another four violet strings sprung to life from her flanks and connected to my vambraces, pulling them with considerable force. The action coupled with the shot propelled me in her direction, set to collide with her barrier.

Cold steel met magic in an eruption of golden sparks, the dome flared and whined in protest against the Aura infused weapon.

I knew that brute force against a barrier like this was useless unless you also had the power of a Maiden on your side. Furthermore, the barrier seemed to work both ways, meaning that the casters couldn't retaliate directly while it was active. My theory was proved right when Konan didn't even try to strike me down now, opting to instead focus on strengthening the barrier.

So, if I couldn't bring it down with explosives, then I had to pierce it.

We grit our teeth in exertion as our struggle stretched onwards, with me pushing Attero forward with all my, admittedly limited, might and with her pouring more and more power into the barrier.

Knowing that our struggle wouldn't turn out in my favor if it continued like this, I activated the Lightning Dust in Attero and watched as blue electricity enveloped the struggling blade. Small arcs lashed out at the barrier, seemingly draining its power even further, until it happened.

A small crack formed in the golden energy shield, both Konan and I let our surprise show on our faces, albeit for different reasons. Without thinking, I pulled another trigger and caused Attero to fire behind me.

The additional force pushed the blade firmly into the shield and caused the cracks to spread. Our gazes met, surprised and excited blue met cold silver. My fingers moved to another trigger and I fired my last bullet.

The blade nearly shattered the barrier as it pressed forwards until it became exposed on the inside, the cracks spread even further and small shards of golden energy fell to the ice.

It still wasn't enough.

Very well aware of this development, Konan channeled more energy into the barrier in a large burst and a flash of light repelled me away.

I rolled and skidded to a stop at the edge of the ice and shakily got to my feet on the slippery surface. Well, that could have turned out better, I winced and recalled Attero back to my hand. The blade was a bit blackened from the exchange, but it was still fine to fight with.

"You're full of surprises as I've come to expect, but it's still not enough. Why, a small part of me is beginning to have doubts about the potency of your tricks." The crazed blond regarded me from her fully repaired dome of golden energy. Her words sounded aloof and uncaring, but the slight genuine smile on her face told me that she was enjoying all of this, that she was merely trying to get a rise out of me.

Maybe she was right…

"My tricks won't cut it," I murmured to myself at the idea, maybe it- no, it was definitely worth a shot. I narrowed my eyes at her and pointedly held out Attero to the side before stowing it away below my cloak.

"Don't tell me you're giving up so soon? I was having fun…" She trailed off when she saw that my hand reached for Laminae on my back. For some reason, Summer's weapon felt… just right in my hands, even more so when it was pointed in Konan's direction with an arrow already notched and ready.

"Ohh, I recognize that weapon! How sentimental of you to bring that toy back to play. Well, if you think it will help you, then go right ahead, but I assure you it will make no difference in the end-" An intangible vortex warped me away before she could finish and deposited me in the air above her. I channeled Aura into the arrow and watched as the shaft got coated in blue, liquid electricity and the arrowhead gained a violet hue to it. With everything ready, I let go of the Stormlance arrow aimed straight at her.

The miniature lightning bolt closed the distance between us within a millisecond and made contact with the magical barrier surrounding her. The area around the impact spot caved in with minimal resistance and allowed the attack to fly inwards unhindered. This is as far it went however, as the approaching lightning bolt simply dissipated in the charged air of the disruption field.

Baffled at the casual dismissal of the otherwise straight up lethal projectile, I warped away to safety and stared at the quickly regenerating barrier in shock.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother explaining things if people never listen to what I have to say," Konan mock sighed and shook her head. "Do you really believe your mother didn't try to pull that eyesore of an attack on me? I devised this defense to counter people like you and her. By now it's evident that I'm all but untouchable to you, but please, do try to prove me wrong again," she said in a manner that reminded me of people talking about the weather.

I stood rooted on the spot for several seconds, mind running miles a second to think of something, anything to crack that stupid shield for good. My plan could take her down, but I needed that barrier gone first, otherwise it would be useless. If things kept going this way, then I would run out of Aura and lose. I was also running out of useful skills and ideas, both mine and Summer's-

But what if I came up with new ideas? If I combined mine and Summer's… That could work, if it didn't blow up in my face, literally.

Seeing my contemplative silence, Konan resumed our battle by dropping her barrier and summoning a barrage of ice spears racing towards me. Realizing that I would struggle to move, let alone dodge with the melting ice below my feet, I opted to warp out of the way of the freezing projectiles.

I reappeared a bit further away, only for the next barrage to immediately zero in on my position and force me to move away again. Not keen of dragging this whack-a-mole game out for long and seeing that the preparations were nearly complete, I decided to try my hand with stalling her with that insane idea, but first I had to finish the last of my preparations, a shame I would have to sacrifice a good portion of my Aura to do it, but oh well.

Unlike the last few times when I reappeared, I turned to the approaching projectiles and threw a single Inferno knife at them. Their collision and ensuing explosion allowed me enough reprieve to find my footing and look straight up at the sky with my Semblance active.

Once again, a large vertical vortex opened and began spewing out throwing knives by the dozens, this continued on until the number of knives reached the hundreds. After that I closed the portal and yanked all of them back towards the ground, straight at Konan.

She paused in her casting process and looked at the approaching knives with bored disdain. She swiped her arm before her and summoned a powerful wind blast to meet the rain of metal head on. Unsurprisingly, the knives got swatted aside like annoying flies and fell to the ice covered ground all around us in a shower of metal. What was surprising however, was that those very knives immediately after landing began spewing out steam in large quantities. The rapidly forming cloud obscured our visibility and soon grew to cover the entire area.

"Is this the best you could have come up with?" Konan called out into the cooling mist disappointedly and moved her arm again. Another gust of wind blew the mist and steam away to reveal… nothing near my original position.

"No." Konan's face scrunched up in momentary confusion before she heard the crackling of electricity somewhere behind her. She turned around and her eyes widened in shock when she saw me standing at the base of the mesa, Laminae in my hands with another Stormlance arrow ready to fire at her. Though unlike before, the symbol on my scarf was glowing with a white light. Consequently, a small white glyph sped down the length of the active Dust arrow and amplified its effects. The blue electricity that was previously flowing along the shaft became significantly brighter and was now struggling to remain contained, though sometimes it still lashed out with blinding discharges at the surrounding air. The air around the glowing violet arrowhead was heavily distorted and the entire arrow emitted a high-pitched whirring sound as it waited to be unleashed.

"This is."

I let go of the arrow and was almost blown off my feet from the sheer force behind the projectile. Calling it a miniature lightning bolt now would be a disservice at this point, in fact it looked much stronger than regular lightning as it covered the distance between the two of us even faster than ever before. Space distorted before the speeding projectile while it left behind stray arcs of electricity in its path. Konan was just in time to erect her barrier, but it proved to be a completely futile endeavor as the dome shattered to a million pieces when the supercharged Stormlance arrow impacted it.

Just as before, the blue lighting entered the disruption field, but it proved to be too powerful to simply disappear in the charged air. And so, it hit Konan in the stomach with the force of a freight train. The elemental attack carried her like ragdoll over the ice field and the rough sands until she hit an outcropping of sandstone. The kinetic and Dust energy released upon impact created an enormous sphere of volatile electricity and superheated air. The ground around the explosion shook and the shockwave fractured stone and ice alike in a large radius around her, rising smoke and dust concealed the rest of our ruined battlefield.

I let out a sigh of relief and briefly sagged my shoulders, oh she wasn't dead, I knew that even though that attack would have literally speared through five Hunters with Aura, she was likely to just get back up again because her Aura spiked considerably when the arrow hit her. But it could hopefully allow me to enact the next phase of my plan and I at least finally had something that could give her a pause for thought if my plan did fail. I slowly warped myself away to the top of the nearby mesa and silently waited for the dust to settle.

"I can't believe this…" I heard Konan wheeze from even where I was, everything was completely silent around us, even the slight breeze one would expect at my elevation came to a halt. The debris around her rumbled and she pushed them aside to stand up. Her outfit wasn't ruined, but it has certainly seen better days. In addition to the burnt off sleeve and the dust coating it, the armor plate where the arrow had hit has completely melted off, the area around it was somewhat torn as well.

"I can't believe this is actually happening…" She stumbled forwards with hunched shoulders, though they heaved slightly as she gasped for air. A chuckle found its way out of her throat, followed by another and another until she was laughing maniacally to herself. My eyes twitched in discomfort and irritation at her behavior as I watched her from above.

"To think someone has actually caused me this much pain… Just thinking about it makes me feel more alive," she stated between stray chuckles. "You… You are a special one aren't you? You could have killed me with that if I wasn't on my toes already!" She turned to look up at me with a twitching smile. "It's like I can't afford to hold back against you-, no, no I'll have to push past my limits even!" The golden flames around her eyes burned with unrivaled ferocity as she exerted more power than ever before. With excitable steps, she began walking towards me. "You have my sincerest gratitude! Why, this is shaping out to be the best fight of my entire life!" She held out a hand and her buster-sword flew into at breakneck speed as she approached. "To have pushed me this far… Please accept this gift as a reward, the power of a fully-realized Maiden!" She exclaimed energetically as storm clouds formed out of nothing above our heads. Lightning danced between the sky and the ground and the non-existent wind suddenly returned with the force of a hurricane. I weathered it all until she reached a certain position on the ruined ice field.

I cheered a little bit inwardly upon realizing that I won't have to listen to her stupid monologues anymore and activated the Dust around her. The Specialist knives' hilts lit up one after the other until hundreds of them were glowing with brown light. Konan stopped to look wonderingly at the action and a moment later a violet string attached itself to a knife at the edge of the formation. Konan followed the string with her gaze and saw it lead back up to my glowing vambrace. Several other strings sprung to life and connected to other knives around the first and so on until the entire field around her became a visible network of interconnected Dust knives.

A glyph in the shape of a ring, specifically.

The giant glyph activated with a mental command and the Earth Dust did its job just as it did yesterday. It rapidly sunk into the earth while leaving Konan standing on a pedestal in the middle of the deepening pit. Once the glyph reached a dozen or so meters below ground, it revealed an underground chamber filled with a variety of glowing Dust crystals.

It was all artificial of course, as shown by the perfectly circular tunnel opening into the donut shaped chamber that led in the direction of the canyon. The Dust itself was from the last container that I stole back in Vale alongside the entirety of my raw reserves as well. Lightning, Fire, Earth, Light, Sonic, Inferno, Scorch, Gravity and Ice were all present, courtesy of Zwei dumping it all in there while I distracted Konan.

The air around her rippled with Dust energy radiating from the agitated crystals down below. This wasn't made any better by the rumbling storm up above as it pushed the volatile materials to their breaking point. Normally, it would take around one ton of Dust to create a Dust storm, provided the weather conditions were severe enough.

I've amassed around fifteen times that amount for this occasion.

Konan seemed to realize the severity of the situation as well, judging from how quickly her smile got wiped from her face and her expression changed to one of shock and disbelief. She moved to restrain her powers but it was too late, a stray lightning bolt raced to the ground and disappeared from sight as it entered the exposed chamber below.

For a moment, the world went white, and this time not because of my eyes.

The shockwave forced me to take an involuntary step back and I had to shield my eyes from the weather anomaly before me. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust, but when they did I was greeted with a breathtaking sight. A pillar of lightning, fire and steam raged between the storm cloud and the pit of Dust. The two forces of nature were trapped in a closed feedback loop where the atmosphere continued to agitate the Dust crystals and the energy released by the Dust fed and maintained the former. The desert rumbled under its power, the ice around it evaporated in a flash, even I could feel its heat wash over me.

It was the awesome power of a perpetual Dust storm.

…But for some unfathomable reason, I had the nagging feeling it still wouldn't be enough.

* * *

_I can already hear people furiously typing out how idiotic Caryll is for not killing Konan when she was at his mercy. Yes, instead he totally should have killed her in cold blood after completing her part of the deal and abandoned the moral high ground like so many cool and grey characters!  
I hope my sarcasm was palpable enough to notice._

_Review responses can be found in the next chapter._

_Until next time!_


	18. Chapter 18

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the eighteenth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. This is the second chapter of the double upload, so I don't have anything new to say other than hope you enjoy this conclusion of the fight._

_Thanks for Ikasuki for Beta-ing this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 18: Aestas**

She flew towards the top of the mesa, mindful of the elemental twister raging in close proximity. Once she reached her destination, she transformed back to her original body and landed next to her annoying godson. Her landing could have been a bit more graceful as she almost stumbled and fell, but she managed to catch herself before she embarrassed herself. She blamed her still recovering body for the uncharacteristic blunder, having been thawed out just prior left her stiff in some places.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up from your nap," the brat commented offhandedly and briefly turned to her to give a friendly smile. She clicked her tongue and joined him in overlooking the anomaly before them.

"Your drooling mutt took its time at freeing me," she replied irritably, swearing inwardly at the drool she could feel on her hair. "How did you know that breaking the ice would work?" She shook off the disturbing sensation and asked away, from what she remembered to what happened to Summer, there was no way of telling that they weren't frozen solid. His mutt could have easily shattered her when it toppled her over.

"I didn't," he shrugged simply in response.

"…" She stared at him in silent disbelief and rising frustration. The young Rose averted his gaze and adopted an innocent expression. After a few seconds she released a sigh and returned her attention to the raging storm before them. "Is she dead?"

"Not even close." Caryll's expression sobered up instantly and his mouth settled into a thin line. "I threw almost everything I had at her, but she just won't stay down. Whenever I think I have her, her Aura spikes up and fluctuates. I have no idea how she has so much of it, but coupled with her powers it practically makes her invincible." He winced with glowing silver eyes.

"It's her Semblance. She converts the pain she feels into Aura, the more intense agony she experiences, the stronger her Aura becomes." She and Summer figured out that much in their previous fight together, not that the knowledge helped that much. Her shaking hand reached for her sword, only to find it still missing. Glowering inwardly in frustration, she quickly altered the motion to rest her hand on her hip.

"Of course that masochist would have a Semblance like that, though it certainly explains her fluctuating Aura, pain is hardly a constant and level feeling," Caryll hummed to himself. "You do realize we can leave anytime we want to, right? This fight is nothing less than insanity," he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Her and I have a score to settle," she growled lowly and narrowed her eyes at the storm before them.

"And I'm just dying to find out what's so important about those flames," Caryll nodded, the fact that they'd need to get through Salem's lackey for that didn't need to be said.

"Glad to know we're on the same page," she huffed with a haughty smirk. Maybe they were both a little insane, but she couldn't care less at the moment. A moment later a vortex opened from Caryll's eye and deposited something she could recognize in her sleep.

"I've had a feeling you'd want this back, so I've picked it up for you," he commented offhandedly and tossed the sword to her without bothering to turn in her direction. She caught it and immediately placed the sheath where it belonged, a quick glance at the various Dust blades ready to be used left her humming in approval.

"Thank you." A small smile briefly replaced her near permanent frown at that. Interestingly enough, Raven found that the action didn't feel forced in any way. Their conversation however was halted when a disturbance in the Dust storm caught their attention. Golden light filtered through flames and steam before the volatile pillar was blown apart by an eruption of golden energy. The duo had to take a step back from the following shockwave before they could observe the remains of the ruined field. In what was just previously the eye of the storm stood the shaking form of Konan with a ruined golden dome of energy enveloping her. As if on cue, the construct crumbled to pieces like a castle of cards a moment later, not that the feverish Maiden paid much attention to that.

"This is what I'm talking about! So exhilarating, I- oh, look who decided to come back for round two," Konan began to say excitedly, only for her voice to lose its energy when she caught sight of her. If someone were to tell her that the woman before her was in a Dust storm just a moment before, she would either say that they were either lying or delusional. The mad blond simply didn't seem like she survived something of that magnitude with only minor injuries and torn clothing.

Raven silently glared at her from up above, she didn't trust her voice to speak what was on her mind.

"What's with the grim face and the brooding silence? I remember you were much more talkative during our last encounter, spouting nonsense about the weakness of my colleagues," Konan commented once she realized she wasn't going to speak up. She opened her arms invitingly and began walking in their direction, consequently a bridge of ice appeared under her feet as she crossed the charred chasm dividing them. "I wonder whatever happened to all that bravado? Did it maybe evaporate when your companion's blood splattered over the ground?" Anger bubbled up inside her alongside something else at those words and she sneered at the approaching blond.

"I'm going to make you regret ever getting involved-" Raven seethed, only for Konan to cut her off and wave dismissively with one of her hands.

"Oh please, nobody's fooled by you. Even from here, I can see you're shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, you want nothing more than to turn tail and flee for your life like a coward." Was she-? Her gaze snapped to her shaking fist. She quickly moved her other arm to get a hold on the unruly one. "I wonder, what are you hoping to accomplish by not doing so outright? Having been humiliated once is not enough for you? Or is this some misguided attempt to save face before the boy?" Konan questioned condescendingly, the action doing nothing to help her rising temper. "Whatever the case the result will be the same as last time, you can't hurt me. Going by your own incessant babbling, I'm much stronger than you could ever hope to be, compared to me you're just a pathetic eyesore only fit to feed the vultures," she taunted as she came to a halt not far from the edge of the crater. Those words finally did it and she snapped.

"Why you-!" An arm held her back as she made to move forward and draw her sword. Looking down at it and then to the side, she saw Caryll looking at her imploringly. She grit her teeth for a few seconds before begrudgingly taking a step back, the boy sent her a grateful nod and smile and turned to address their opponent.

"You're right, as things stand you may be the most powerful human in the entire world." Raven considered it briefly and found herself betrayed by her own thoughts, Ozpin lost most of his power and Salem wasn't human, meaning that the brat was probably right... "You're right that individually we aren't powerful compared to you. If our duel continued on as it did so far, you would have won without a doubt, the same is true if our situations were reversed." He briefly glanced at her pointedly. "But we're not alone, together we're more than just two weak Hunters condemned to die. Together we are strong, or at least way stronger than someone with only one-fourths of a borrowed power." The conviction filled declaration allowed Raven to somewhat cool her nerves, but it also gave birth to a feeling in the back of her head that irked her. Konan received the words with a frown and an annoyed scoff.

"I've heard all those threats before; they still sound just as empty as ever. Ah, fine then, intervene if you wish, but do make it interesting this time. Well as interesting as a phony Huntress at the end of their rope can." She lifted her sword before her and ran a glowing hand along its length. Consequently, the blade got imbued with a swirling violet and red aura. "Well then, for this final act with feeling!" She yelled and swung the massive blade horizontally in the direction of the mesa. A crescent beam of those intermixing colors left the moving blade and sped forwards until it made contact with the midsection of the hill. The hard sandstone did little to stop the powerful wave as it soared through the formation and diagonally cut off a chunk of the mesa.

The ground beneath their feet rumbled as the now unstable rock foundation shifted forwards with increasing speed. Raven and Caryll shared a nod between them and allowed the crumbling hillside to carry them downwards a way before switching to jumping between falling debris.

Once she felt her feet touching solid ground, Raven launched her sword at the waiting Maiden and immediately followed after it, mindful of the falling rocks around her. Her sword was easily deflected back by a timely block from Konan, but Raven caught the slowly spinning blade and rushed in to strike again.

She was however soon reminded of the difference between their strength when her strike was swatted aside by the massive magic imbued blade. She was barely fast enough to crouch below a wide horizontal swing, but she could already see Konan continuing with the motion and going for a full spin to come around again. Thinking quickly, Raven rolled onto her back and extended her legs to catch the flat side of the spinning blade, she then pushed with all her might and forced the blade upwards while springing to her feet. At first the action seemed to unbalance Konan, but it was quickly proven otherwise as she went with the motion before altering it into an overhead slash.

Knowing better than to confront a raging Maiden directly by now, Raven evaded the strike by briefly transforming into her corvid form and flying behind Konan. She returned to her normal form on the other side and used the opportunity to slash at her back multiple times before kicking her forwards.

The reason why she did so quickly became evident to Konan when she saw Caryll only a few meters away from her and still closing in with an arm extended in her direction. Her face contorted in defiance and the flames around her eyes flared brightly.

A violet blast wave burst from her position and blew everything away from her. Raven felt herself repelled away from the epicenter of the blast, she prepared herself to impact either the ground or one of the numerous pieces of debris lying around, but to her confusion neither has happened. She opened her eyes and found herself flying away from the raging Maiden. A confused glance around confirmed that she wasn't the only one experiencing this phenomenon; sand, rocks and boulders of all sizes gained a strange violet hue to them and were either flying in random directions or slowly floating upwards.

This was a gravity field.

Raven struggled to orient herself in the weightless environment as she flew away from the battle. With nothing to stop her momentum she was powerless to do anything until she left the affected area.

Or maybe not, she quickly drew her sword and opened one of her signature red portals. Momentum carried her inside and she found herself impacting a floating boulder on the other side. She immediately kicked off the rotating boulder to another as she heard the all too familiar whistling sound of a fireball flying in her direction. Her instincts proved their worth when the miniature planetoid exploded into a thousand pieces.

She took a moment to take hold of the situation and saw her godson being chased through the forming three dimensional maze by the flying Maiden. Caryll was forced to hop from boulder to boulder with the occasional firing of his gun to alter his trajectory in order to avoid Konan's attacks. Unlike both of them, she didn't have any problem moving in this environment due to the flames bursting from her feet propelling her forwards.

Growling lowly to herself in equal amounts of apprehension and annoyance, Raven made to intercept and draw the attention of their enemy. The easiest way to win this fight was by having the brat trap the Maiden, but he couldn't do that while he was constantly hounded by her. She placed a hand on the handle of her sword and an Aura powered kick sent her on an intercept course to the fast moving duo.

She landed on the exact same boulder Caryll just vacated a moment ago and launched an Iaido strike at the side of the caught off-guard Maiden. To her muted shock, her red blade shattered against Konan's side and left her defenseless against the blonde who turned her full attention to her. She made to fall back, but a hand clamped around her throat in the blink of an eye and hoisted her up in the air.

"Looks like you're still nothing more than an annoying failure, so butt out!" Konan declared with a twisted grin as ice crystals spurt from the hand holding her up. Her heart pounded harshly in her chest as she clawed at the hand holding her up.

Fortunately for her, something caught Konan's attention as she looked aside to see Caryll flying to intercept the both of them with an extended hand. Suddenly grinning, Konan waited until he got close enough before hurling her at the rapidly approaching boy. He was forced to phase through both of them before rematerializing on the other side, only for one of Konan's hands to grip his leg and hurl Caryll away too. With victorious glee, Konan looked in her direction and made to follow with lightning crackling in her hand.

Raven cursed under her breath once she noticed her pursuer and launched her sword forwards, it impacted the flat side of a large and mostly intact boulder. Once she caught up with it, she grabbed the embedded sword by the hilt and used it to pivot in place and deliver a brutal kick to the Maiden on her heels. The action sent Konan flying out of sight and allowed her to catch her breath for a few seconds.

She panted lightly and her heart beat faster than ever before. Those elemental attacks were a nightmare to deal with in their previous encounter, they were simply too destructive to simply block and too fast to effectively evade-

"Use the right Dust type to counter her magic! It's her weakness!" The brat called out as he moved between boulders. Apparently she wasn't as hard to read as she thought, or the brat simply knew well enough to tell what was on her mind, or maybe it was her nerves making her too jittery, all of those possibilities seemed just as likely to her-

She wasn't allowed any more reprieve it seemed, Konan rocketed towards her position with her glowing sword poised to skewer her and it was only thanks to her muscle memory from dealing with Summer's surprise attacks in their spars that allowed her to evade in time. The sword struck the surface of the small planetoid and sent up a screen of dust that momentarily blocked her vision. It was quickly dispersed when Konan emerged from it and thrust her lightning imbued hand in her direction.

Her sheath clicked as it finished cycling, her grip over the handle tightened and she drew her sword with blinding speed.

The Lightning Dust blade met the offending attack and held it back for a split second. The blade then detonated and caused the attack to activate prematurely in Konan's hand. The blond's arm was blown back as her attack backfired and Raven allowed her eyes to briefly soften in relief.

However, relief turned to shock when Konan used her momentum to spin in place and deliver a devastating backhand to her face. She was slammed into the hard surface of the boulder, rock cracked under the sheer force of the blow and she was forced to watch dazedly as her opponent lifted the glowing blade above her and swung it down to end her.

That is until a blinding projectile hit Konan in the side and sent her flying out of the hovering rock formation where she impacted the ground with an explosion of lightning accompanying her landing.

"Nice job keeping her still for that long. I almost thought she really had you there." The brat appeared in her vision and offered her a hand. She roughly took hold of the offered hand and pulled herself to her feet with a half-dazed grunt of exertion.

"You and me both." If that's what he believed she had intended, then she wouldn't disagree, her throat still felt sore after that encounter after all.

The maze of planetoids suddenly destabilized without the presence of the Maiden and began falling one by one. The brat placed a hand on her shoulder and warped them away outside of the reach of the rain of rocks. Upon landing, they could see Konan stagger to her feet, her clothing now missed another armor plate and a few patches of fabric.

"Those arrows of yours are quickly becoming annoying, you know that?" She coughed roughly into her hand before straightening her posture. "Well, I suppose we all have to adapt somehow, and now it's my turn. Come a bit closer and don't keep me waiting!" She raised her hands into the air and several tons of scorched sand started to swirl around her in response. In a few moments, the impromptu sandstorm grew tenfold in size and its shape changed to resemble that of a raging hurricane. The spiraling sand and heated glass hid her from view and acted as a barrier between them.

They regarded the obstacle silently for a few moments until the brat sagged his shoulders. "Could you take the lead from now on? My Aura is on its last legs and after going up against her for Gods know how long, my body isn't in a better shape either," Caryll looked at her apologetically.

"Then how are we supposed to deal with her?" Raven frowned. If they couldn't rely on the brat's ability to draw the Maiden in, then what could they do? Conventional methods were useless against that damned Semblance, she and Summer threw everything they had at her, but she just shrugged them off with only minor cuts and bruises to show for it.

"I could try capturing her again, that sandstorm is hardly a challenge for me to cross, but at this point it would be pointless. She would either erect that stupid barrier if she saw me approaching or use something else to keep me away," he shook his head dejectedly. "Fighting from range would also be pointless with the sand in the way and she would only let you get close enough to engage her… The way I see it, our only option is to just batter her Aura down until her body can't keep up," he shrugged with a weak smile. Raven would have normally berated him for such a narrowminded approach, but saw that he was simply at the end of his wits like she was, although…

"Maybe not, I have something that could work…" She allowed after a moment of thought, causing the brat to regard her curiously.

"What is it?"

"Something that could pierce her Aura." If circumventing her Aura didn't work, then they had to shatter it with a decisive blow.

"So, a final trump card of sorts that you didn't teach me before because…?" He asked semi-seriously in an effort to lighten the otherwise grim mood. She rolled her eyes at the attempt, everyone had their own secrets in their fighting style that they just didn't tell anyone, no matter what.

"I'll lose my Aura after using it, but executed properly it can overwhelm and cut straight through Aura," she explained. Technically, the skill she was referring to is entirely common knowledge, everyone channeled some Aura into their weapons to strengthen them, but only a handful actually used more than the bare minimum. If she just channeled all of hers into one strike, it would be practically unblockable.

"If you had this technique of yours before, why didn't you use it the last time?" Caryll looked at her confusedly.

"I did. It failed," she replied blandly, seeing the brat about to ask the obvious, she elaborated. "It was designed to work against Hunters with normal Auras, not against Maidens with abnormal ones." Her blade bounced right off of her wildly fluctuating Aura. It was equal amounts shocking and terrifying.

"And since we already did a number on her, you think it will work this time," he guessed her reasoning.

"I would like to lower her Aura as much as possible before attempting it again, but essentially yes. How is she looking right now?" She tried to keep her anxiousness from showing, honestly it was just a gamble from her part. The psycho survived a Dust storm, a supercharged version of that arrow Summer liked to use and whatever else the brat threw at her before her arrival. He nodded and looked in the direction of the Maiden.

"I can't tell, the storm is saturated with her Aura so I can't see inside," he reported with a wince. And there was another reason why they couldn't fight at range, firing blindly into a storm would be just an exercise in stupidity, Raven thought bitterly.

"How many of those arrows do you have left?" She asked tersely.

"Three. Maybe be enough to deplete her almost completely if all hit." Raven cursed under her breath, the chance of that happening in close quarters was less than negligible. At this rate she'll have to try- "-Wait, I have an idea! Take Zwei with you," he interrupted her thoughts and summoned his mutt from his dimension. The dog barked in greeting and wagged its tail at seeing them.

"Why would I take that drooling mutt of yours with me?" She eyed the small corgi skeptically.

"I'll go and prepare a surprise, meanwhile you keep the Maiden occupied and when you think she's vulnerable give the signal to Zwei. Trust me," he pleaded, the words causing Raven to pause.

Trust?

When was the last time she decided to blindly trust someone with her life? She closed her eyes with an exhausted sigh, the answer was last week and look where that had gotten her. Before that it was with Ozpin and it ended with similar consequences with her being almost killed by his lies. Then her own team, they saw fit to condemn her actions rather than question the circumstances she made them under. Her brother, her husband and her best friend didn't bother to question Ozpin besides some rehashed surface level answers they were fed years ago. Going back even further than that, even in her years growing up in the tribe she could tell that she couldn't trust anyone but herself, and not entirely for lack of trying either.

In the grand scheme of things, what she did last week was just the latest instance in a long line where she burned herself by trying to trust someone else.

…

…

Then what urged her to do it again despite everything? Her heart hadn't calmed down in the slightest, her hands started to shake whenever she wasn't doing something with them and even her mind was telling her that this was suicidal and yet something told her to do as he asked.

It was utterly confounding and it greatly troubled her.

…But maybe she could risk getting burned just one more time. She was a survivor after all, she would make it one way or the other.

"Fine, I'm counting on you, brat. Don't screw this up." She didn't know how her voice sounded so calm while her heart was doing its best to jump out of her chest.

The young Rose apparently noticed her contemplative state and let out a breath he was holding back. He nodded with a happy grin and joined by her side as they faced the raging storm. "Sure thing, Auntie," he snapped a mock salute and took Summer's bow in his hands. Zwei meanwhile jumped on her shoulder and gently bit down on her arm. Her eyes twitched at the disturbing feeling before she steeled herself.

"I'll go in first and then you can portal after me once I'm inside. Oh, and take this, be sure not to be anywhere near it when you use it though," he added as an afterthought and offered one of his knives to her. She took it wordlessly and looked it over, there was Fire and Water Dust in it alongside another familiar purple liquid. She nodded in thanks and he was gone in the next instant, they kept that unhinged lunatic waiting long enough as it is.

Raven watched as Caryll closed in on the wall of swirling sand before disappearing in it. She waited a couple of seconds before slashing at the air before her, creating one of her signature red portals in the process. Without a moment of hesitation, she stepped through it and emerged on the other side in the eye of the storm. Quickly taking a hold on the situation, she saw the Maiden with her back turned against her, currently busy hounding after the brat with a variety of elemental attacks. She made a snap decision to hurl the loaned knife at her, the brat needed to disappear and do his part without distractions.

Seeing her attack, Caryll committed to one last parting shot to keep the Maiden's attention on himself. The bullet whizzed past her head, but the distraction worked as the knife hit her in the side. Predictably, it fell to the ground seemingly uselessly and for a moment nothing happened, but then Konan's form was quickly enveloped in an expanding haze of purple steam. Now free to leave, Caryll turned to her and they shared a nod of acknowledgement before he disappeared in an intangible vortex.

Violent coughing from inside the steam captured her attention and Raven settled into a stance with a hand on her sword, their battlefield was relatively small and with their speed every second counted. The violent coughing continued on until a red fireball exploded outwards from the steam. The haze was dispersed by the shockwave and then burned away by the heat. In the center of it all stood Konan's harshly breathing form with her glowing sword planted in the ground.

While the concentrated Taijitu venom didn't do much damage against opponents with Aura, its effects were still noticeable. The red veins around Konan's previously calm and mirthful eyes were now in full display as the Maiden's eyes twitched in pain and irritation, all of it directed at her.

"Tch, looks like I'll have to take on the annoying eyesore first!" She complained loudly and charged at her with that oversized meat cleaver of hers in one hand and a lightning sphere in the other. Raven's eyes flickered between the two attacks as she prepared to hold her own. The sword came rushing at her first in a large diagonal swing. Knowing better than to block the fire magic enhanced strike, Raven opted to duck and move to the side a bit to avoid the soaring blade. For a moment the world slowed down, her heart pounded in her chest, her eyes locked on the hand holding the massive blade.

Then her sheath finished cycling with a barely audible click.

The pull of the trigger coupled with reflexes honed by years of combat propelled her red blade towards Konan's exposed weapon hand that was coursing with red energy. In the blink of an eye the quickdraw connected and magic met Dust in a violent reaction. Her blade shattered, the buster-sword was blown away from the duo, Konan's hand was similarly repulsed and caused the Maiden to stagger backwards momentarily.

Raven moved the handle back to her sheath with a grim expression as she moved to stand up herself. The momentary victory was just that, momentary. That was made clear when Konan recovered her footing and thrust that same arm in her direction with a twisted grin. This time miniature ice crystals covered her palm, likely intent on slowing her down, if not freeze her outright.

Another quickdraw with an Ice Dust blade ensured that didn't come to pass.

Once again the offending hand was blown back, but this time she knew what was to come. Raven ducked again, causing the spinning backhand to narrowly miss her and Zwei, and got into the blond's guard to push the Maiden's off-hand into her own chest.

Because how better to fight someone nearly invulnerable than to use their own strength against them.

The lightning sphere detonated and forced both parties away from each other, Konan was sent flying near the edge of the eye, while Raven was sent skidding a few meters backwards as well.

Her eyes fixated on the recovering madwoman, her sheath whirring quietly as it kept cycling between different blades, but before she could capitalize on her advantage, a bright light caught her attention in her peripheral vision. Snapping her head in that direction, she saw Konan's sword glow brightly as it was stuck in the ground only a few meters away. The blade then let go of its stored up energy and released it an eruption of magic that swept her off her feet.

She coughed roughly through the smoke and jumped to her feet with blade in hand. The mutt on her shoulder was miraculously resilient it seemed, because it fared the explosion without a single whine of complaint.

In fact, the corgi seemed quite excited. It was probably as insane as its owner-

Her line of thought was cut short when the fully recovered Maiden burst through the smoke separating them with her sword already swinging at her. Seeing that it wasn't imbued with any sort of magic for now, Raven brought up her own blade to block it. The two blades clashed with each other and with neither willing to budge, the duo entered a temporary stalemate.

"That actually hurt! Looks like failures can still learn a few tricks, what a pleasant surprise!" Konan laughed in excitement and pushed their blades closer to Raven's face. She briefly struggled to hold her own before realizing something.

If the psycho wanted a surprise, she could have one.

She detonated her blade with a subtle smirk. The small explosion forced the two fighters apart and upset their footing, just as she wanted. "Now!"

Right on command, the drooling corgi barked once and an intangible vortex opened from its eye. Raven briefly wondered what her annoying and insane godson had planned, but not even she could have predicted this.

Three intertwined blinding projectiles exited the portal and hit Konan squarely in the chest. The unprepared blond was carried through the swirling sandstorm by the three supercharged arrows and was slammed against several dune tops in small explosions of sand before she came to a halt near the violet firestorm dominating their landscape.

* * *

I emerged from Zwei's vortex right after the three special Stormlance Arrows and stowed Laminae on my back. Now that I ran out of the specialty arrows, there was no point in using it anymore. The whirling sand around us came to a halt without the influence of a Maiden and harmlessly fell to the ground.

"How is her Aura?" Raven asked as she got to her feet. I looked in the direction Konan was flung; she was already summoning another sandstorm around her. It seemed tiny in comparison against the backdrop of the violet firestorm, but the two anomalies contrasted beautifully with each other.

"Barely present, but quickly rising again. Are you ready finish this?" I asked rhetorically, we really wouldn't get any other chances to bring Konan's Aura this low after this. Echoing my thoughts, Raven grimly nodded in response.

"I'll give you a way inside and you can join me when you're ready," I told her without looking. She frowned at my words and made to argue.

"But your Aura-"

"I'll be fine. I have one more trick that could increase your chances," I cut her off with a shake of my head. I was running on fumes by this point, yes, and I could use Zwei to get a bit more, but this was necessary for the idea I had. "Trust me." I turned to Raven with what I hoped was a reassuring smile. She huffed with a shake of her head and settled into a stance with one hand on her sheathed sword. Taking that as a sign of approval, I blurred towards the raging sandstorm in the distance.

Upon entering the sandstorm, I was instantly transported to my Time-Space where I charged on without interruptions, that is unless you discount the small black thing I snatched up and stuffed under my cloak while running. I ran until I suddenly found myself in reality again in the eye of the storm.

It only took a few moments for my entry to be noticed and for Konan to turn her full attention on me, just on time to see my silver Aura shatter around me.

"Seems to me you overestimated yourself just a little. A shame, but I suppose all good things have to come to an end at one point," she let out a disappointed sigh, I was about to retort when she blurred from her spot and I felt her fingers clamp around my throat. "But at least now I don't have to worry about your slippery Semblance anymore," she said with a small, eerie smile as she hoisted me up into the air, leaving my feet dangling in the air. I struggled for air once again even as I saw small ice crystals grow on the hand holding me up.

Deciding that it was high time I enacted my last plan, lest I became a life-sized icicle, I removed the arm that was hidden under my cloak and lashed out at Konan with it. She of course effortlessly caught the speeding hand by the wrist, but failed to stop the annoying pest that was in my hand from flying onwards. It landed on her oversized sword that was momentarily planted in the sand beside us.

The Iratus hugged the blade for a brief moment as it took stock of its situation. The bug's unexpected appearance was apparently surprising enough for Konan to stare dumbfounded at it for a precious few moments.

Normally, Grimm wouldn't attack one of Salem's followers thanks to the protection they enjoyed, but these were anything but normal circumstances.

Salem didn't create the Grimm, they followed her commands, but for all her power Salem wasn't a god, she couldn't have absolute control over every single Grimm at any given moment. Moreover, Iratuses were much more used to getting their orders from their hive Queen.

This particular Iratus' Queen was killed, its connection to Salem was severed completely upon leaving Remnant. Having only just returned left it disoriented and without direction and with a light source brighter than anything it has ever seen before right in front of it, the lethal bug's vision went red and its mind resorted to its primal instincts.

Feed and multiply.

The Iratus launched itself at the arm holding my wrist and wrapped itself around it like a constrictor snake, all in the blink of an eye. A split second later the Grimm completely bypassed her Aura and penetrated her skin with its stinger and mandibles, earning a cry of surprise and pain from Konan.

The shock of the event went away as quick as it came and Konan's arm began emanating red energy in increasing quantities. She snarled as magical fire burst from her arm and burned the annoying pest away before it could replicate. She breathed heavily and her narrowed eyes locked with mine, the momentary distraction halted the spread of the ice for a bit, but now it receded completely, much to my surprise.

"For a one-use tool you're astonishingly persistent," she commented lowly as her eyes twitched in residual pain. She lifted her still burning arm and pointed it against my chest with a small fireball forming in her palm, "But it ends here!" I shut my eyes as I saw her thrusting her hand forwards.

I felt her palm softly impact my chest.

I cracked one eye open in morbid curiosity to see that her previously flaming arm has been extinguished, seemingly by itself, as it rested against my torso. A moment later it slackened and fell to Konan's side where it hung uselessly.

So, the venom worked against not just Semblances, but magic as well…

The crazed Summer Maiden gritted her teeth in frustration at the setback and channeled that red energy to her other arm instead. Time seemingly slowed to a crawl as I watched the energy travel down the length of her arm, creeping ever so closer to my neck, but it seemed like I had stalled her for long enough.

One of Raven's signature portals snapped into existence not far from us. Raven and Zwei emerged from it and blurred towards us, her eyes were locked on the arm holding me up and her hand was still on her sheathed sword. Zwei was resting on her shoulder with a similarly sharp gaze.

Konan noticed the duo even before they closed half the distance between us and her eyes gained a mad gleam to them. Her other arm was out of commission, which meant she couldn't pick up her sword to defend herself. But why do that when she had a perfectly good shield at hand?

The insane blond turned towards the approaching duo and moved me on front of her, her eyes found Raven's and daringly bore into them.

Raven forged on undeterred, her eyes glaring determinedly ahead. The distance shrunk even further until Raven's hand began drawing her brightly glowing sword, seemingly uncaring of the obstacle I presented. Then, just as her fingers squeezed the trigger on her sword, the pair disappeared in an intangible vortex.

Konan's expression morphed into one of shock as she lost sight of them, but she needn't look for longer than a split second as another one of Zwei's portals deposited them on our exposed flank.

Then the world returned to normal, Raven's sword raced from its sheath and cut straight through the arm holding me up. Konan let out a scream of agony as she stumbled back in shock at losing one of her arms, I fell to the ground and pried off the dead hand from my throat while gasping for air. Raven didn't stop in her attack and reversed her grip on the sword while twisting herself into Konan's guard.

The upper half of the glowing sword poked out of Konan's back, the blade itself entered through her lower stomach and likely pierced a few vital organs along the way. Raven muttered something incoherent under her breath, but judging from her disdained tone, it wasn't anything pleasant. The red blade lost its shine and Raven's Aura similarly shattered a moment later. She quickly twisted her sword for good measure before removing it and stepping away from Konan. The woman went stock-still and blood poured in droves from her gaping wounds. I let out a silent breath of relief and stared at the sky, it worked, no one can survive those wounds…

"W-what an exhilarating s-sensation." Konan's gurgled speech sent a jolt through both my and Raven's hearts and we turned to see the mortally injured Maiden sway in place. Her back was hunched slightly from the pain and her labored breathing. The wound on her stomach and her stump was covered in rapidly brightening golden Aura that stopped her condition from getting any worse, but with how much blood her clothes were stained with I didn't know how long that would last. Her intact arm still hung uselessly at her side, no doubt soon to be joined by her legs once the venom spread through her body. "I c-can feel myself f-fading, but I can't h-help but want m-more of it," she was forced to cough up blood between her attempts at laughter, leaving a generous amount of the red liquid dripping down her chin. Raven was before her in a flash with her sword already mid-swing, but she was repelled back as her strike made contact with Konan's hastily erected golden barrier. The flames around Konan's flickered in intensity as she tried exerting her power. "B-but I know that she w-would be disappointed if I d-didn't take you with me." Seeing that laughing was beyond her at the moment, she settled on a bloody smile as she regarded us. I scrambled to my feet and stood beside Raven with Attero gripped tightly in my hands. "S-so for that I w-won't give into my u-urges and instead end the b-both of you!" She disappeared from her position, her Aura enhanced movements were too fast for us to track with ours broken. Realizing that that without Aura, any one of her attacks could be lethal, I made the snap decision to dive at Raven as quickly as I could.

I made it in time to shove Raven slightly to the side, but not enough to completely push her out of harm's way as it turned out, Konan's foot hit my right arm and a part of Raven's chest. The force behind the brutal kick sent us flying several meters before we came to halt in the rough sand.

I gritted my teeth with shut eyes for several seconds, my right arm felt like it was on fire. Judging by the numerous cracking sounds I've heard, I was pretty sure most of the bones in my arm were broken, probably somewhere else too thanks to my landing.

"I m-must say, t-this day turned out m-much better than I e-expected." I opened my eyes to see Konan slowly stumbling in our direction. Her battered and broken visage alongside the violet firestorm right behind her made her look like someone coming straight out of hell.

Ignoring the intense pain, I frantically looked around for anything that could help. At this point she was a dead woman walking, ironically it was probably the intense agony of being impaled that kept her alive, but there is only so much Aura can do against extreme trauma, and with the venom coursing through her veins she was likely to drop dead at any second. That however didn't mean she was any less deadly than before.

"I've g-got to fight one of the m-most interesting individuals I've met in d-decades and even got to s-see a failure rise a-above and beyond my e-expectations." The sound of the sand shifting beneath Konan's boots was getting closer and closer.

Looking to my right, I saw Raven lying beside me with Zwei partially hidden under her, her eyes were open and she was glaring venomously at the approaching blond, but the blood trailing from her mouth and her arms clutching her chest made it obvious she wasn't capable of moving-

My thought processes stopped as my eyes darted back to Zwei.

"In f-fact, I can say t-that this was the g-greatest fight of my e-entire life, and I have you to t-thank you for it, Caryll R-Rose. Please, if you h-have any final r-requests, I'd be happy to hear t-them before I send a-all of us to the a-afterlife." Konan stopped a few meters away from us and struggled to keep her balance. Despite this, she still had enough measure of control to summon a large fireball in her hand that pulsed with unstable energy.

I won't let you kill Raven. I sat up with a wince and turned to face Konan.

"Burn." I flashed my eyes at the woman and the world went white for a moment. I then quickly sent a command to Zwei and rolled beside Raven. Konan blinked at the action and stared in momentary confusion as we disappeared in an intangible vortex of air. Her confusion was quickly replaced by horrified realization when she heard rumbling sounds coming from behind her. She turned around just in time to see a wall of violet flames surge forwards from the enormous nearby firestorm and cover the entire area.

The wave of fire washed over her momentarily before receding back to where it came from. Zwei brought us back a few seconds later just in time to see Konan's final moments. It was a testament to the power of her Semblance that her silhouette was still visible through the violet pyre that was consuming her form, though in this case this resilience was less than welcome if her shrill screaming was anything to go by. She thrashed around in place; golden energy could be seen filtering through the darkness as she desperately tried to cling to her life. Her efforts were all for naught however, she fell to her knees and her death throes came to an abrupt halt. The golden energy inside brightened and then it surged outwards, dispersing the violet flames before it shot upwards in the darkening sky until we couldn't see it.

This only took place in the span of a few moments, but I had no doubt it was the most agonizing death one could experience. Fitting for her in a way.

I exhaled loudly and stared at the sky with Raven doing likewise beside me, I hoped that whoever would become the next Summer Maiden would turn out better than the last.

But honestly, the bar isn't set very high.

* * *

_Few people guessed Raven would become the next Maiden, alas it's not to be. It's a somewhat universally accepted fanon that the cutoff age for becoming a Maiden "naturally" is 30. Raven and the rest of Team STRQ is 34 as of this moment in this fic._

_But I'm accepting bets on who you think the next Summer Maiden will be._

_Oh, and to dispel any wrong notions before they even have a chance to begin, Caryll would have lost to Konan had Raven not joined in._

_That's two out of two villains/bosses burned to death by Caryll so far. He's doing his best as part of Team ARSN._

_Some may have not noticed, but the vast majority of Konan's abilities are pulled straight out of canon (Lightning Sphere- used by Raven against Cinder, Elemental Blades- Cinder and Raven, Dome Barrier- used by Ozpin and Oscar etc.) or are heavily inspired by it (Freezing Touch- used by Raven to freeze Cinder, though her version could be cast at range, I changed that for balance's sake, Disruption Field, Gravity Field and Sandstorm- the elemental variations of Fria's show of power etc.)._

_The base idea of this fight (aside from character and plot development reasons of course) was that we never actually see a __**perfect**__ Maiden in the show, a fully-realized Maiden at the height of their power and control. Looking back on the show, Amber was probably new to her powers and was a bit lackluster with them as a result. I mean she needed to resort to using Maiden powers to beat a younger Emerald and Mercury? Really? Then there is Cinder and Raven, both who have a good grasp on their powers and are relatively young enough to effectively use them, but still not close to what they could achieve with more experience. Enter Fria, the show's only fully-realized Maiden with decades of experience with her powers but hindered by a degrading mind and body, were she simply a few decades younger she could very well be the most powerful human on Remnant._

_And so, the concept of Konan was born, a ~30 year old woman who received her powers early in her life (~10 years of age) and was able to gain experience with them for over two decades in a harsh environment. Add in a Semblance that rewarded her if she got hurt as much as possible and no moral inhibitions to the mix and you get the recipe for one of the most powerful humans to ever walk the face of Remnant._

_She still fell in the end, because strength won't always bring victory in RWBY, but then again, she probably died with a smile on her face since Caryll just basically fulfilled her life goal of "seeking worthy entertainment till the day she died". From her perspective, she lived a happy, fulfilling life with no regrets._

_On a side note, a lot of people have asked if Caryll's character is inspired by Emiya Shirou, because they were apparently reminded of him. The answer to that is no, because I haven't seen Fate/stay night before this chapter. I decided to watch it out of curiosity and because some also spoke highly of it…_

_After 15 episodes… well, let's just say that it isn't my cup of tea so far. The premise and setting is interesting, Rin and Saber are great characters, but Shirou, oh boy… I'm not going into detail with my grievances because this really isn't the place for that, but they could be summarized in two points: His philosophy and… questionable decisions don't really fit in with events happening around him. It came to the point where I'm actively dreading what's going to happen whenever he opens his mouth. It also doesn't help that around 30% of his lines are "Saber!"_

_Don't get me wrong, the pros still outweigh the cons so far, so I'll still finish it. But will it get better? Are the other series objectively better or do they have another protagonist?_

_And I can also say this with full confidence now; Caryll's philosophy has little in common with Shirou's. Shirou's philosophy is a result of his childhood trauma and is misguided at best or self-contradictory and senseless at worst. Caryll's "philosophy" is/was that no one should have to die for his failures or decisions unless he deems them irredeemable or as an immediate threat and thus deserving of death._

_I know I'm a horrible person for not including the promised Omakes, but these two chapters sapped me of all my creative energy for the time being. I'll upload them sometime later, probably before the next chapter comes out._

_Reviews:_

_LazyGodofIdeas: Everything in its own time, my friend. First we have to get some much needed answers._

_Mr Beaver Buttington: I'm afraid I don't, fanart isn't really my forte. If it helps just imagine her as a younger version of Yang with silver eyes._

_Alex99999: Nope, Qrow's not the father._

_notvisiulebliss:…I'm not sure how your point was connected to what I said in the AN, but yeah, I agree. Remnant would get stomped without question, I never said otherwise. Just because the four greatest Hunters to have ever existed could take on individual Kages doesn't mean everyone else can. Caryll is an obvious exception because Kamui and such, the only reason I see why you would think that I'm 'buffing' Remnant is because of his fights so far, but you forget that those are outliers more than anything. I stated that Summer is one of the best of her generation, surpassed by only a handful. Nicholas on the other hand is an Old Hunter with an op Semblance and decades of experience. Then there is Konan, a fully realized Maiden and literally the strongest person in Remnant discounting Salem herself._

_Another thing is that Caryll's version of Kamui is a Semblance first and foremost, which means that it can and has to evolve to become (more) viable. Even when Kakashi first used Kamui on screen it took like five minutes and couldn't be aimed properly. Now compare that to the last time he used it against Kaguya, where he casually warped away one of the fastest attacks in the entire series before any other character could move a meter. Caryll's Kamui can and will evolve to its full potential, given time. That includes dimension hopping._

_mythiggy: I'm not nearly pretentious enough to say that I'm a good writer, I'm just a hobby writer who does this for fun, so there's ought to be a ton of mistakes in the story. The Bloodborne names are easter eggs, nothing more than nods to that mythos. But honestly, I'm starting to regret ever naming them that way because I have a feeling people are expecting something not RWBY from them, despite the multiple disclaimers I've put in place that say they won't. It just gives me a headache. That scene you're referencing with the mental breakdown also irked me after writing the following chapters, I'll edit that specific line out and replace it with something more fitting._

_Your other points about the plot flowing weirdly and mc getting what he wants almost every time is intentional, believe it or not. Without getting into any spoilers, the story has a special structure that I honestly rarely see other stories utilizing, probably because it's hard to pull off and can very easily be mistaken for your typical isekai power fantasy that lives for ~8 chapters before it dies due to lack of direction._

_In the end, only time will tell whether this structure will pay off or not._

_Guest (Rose Warrior): I can't really answer that question because I haven't seen Bleach yet (it's on my watch list, but haven't got around to it yet) and Sasuke's speed is all over the place thanks to the power-scaling in the back part of the War-arc. Let's just say that he'll be Obito level fast and let's leave it at that._

_Until next time!_


	19. Chapter 19

_Hello there, I'm The Royal Protector and you're reading the nineteenth chapter of The Silver Eyed Prodigy. At this moment I have nothing to say apart from that this story is now officially in the top 100 stories in the RWBY category based on follower count. This is a huge achievement and I can only thank you guys for carrying the story this far._

_Thanks for Ikasuki for Beta-ing this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this._

* * *

**Chapter 19: Veritas**

The small girl's blade sailed slowly towards her. Her eyes tracked the attack without problem as expected and allowed Raven to see the many faults in its execution. Overextended arm, unstable footing and too much force applied to a single strike. All amateurish mistakes that could leave her open to any semi-competent opponent if her attack failed and could very well cost her life in a true engagement.

Fortunately for the small girl, this was anything but a true battle.

Raven caught the speeding blade with her own and deflected it aside. Caught off-guard, the girl let out a strangled yelp as Raven's elbow caught her in the jaw and sent her sprawling to the ground in a pained heap.

Simple training or not she wouldn't go easy on her either.

"Ow, how did I do this time?" Lily, the young Spring Maiden, asked as she climbed to her feet while caressing the sore spot on her face. Raven stopped to think about it for a moment before listing her observations in a deadpan manner.

"You're still not used to your weapon well enough to make full use of its capabilities. Your technique is unrefined, raw and full of holes that anyone with half a brain could exploit if given the chance. You don't know your limits and so subconsciously tap into your powers to compensate when you do overreach them. That in and on itself wouldn't be a problem, but your control over them is awful, meaning that they just become a hazard to everyone present, yourself included. You also can't rely on your instincts to guide you in engagements simply because you have next to none." She saw the young Faunus wilt more and more with each point she made. She silently collected her blades and settled into a somewhat competent stance her godson would call 'a work in progress'.

"I-I understand. I'll try harder this time-" "-But better." Her interruption made the disheartened girl perk up and regard her with wide eyes.

Raven rolled her eyes inwardly at the reaction and let out a suffering sigh. "Compared to the abysmal performance you showed when we started, you have made notable progress. Not the greatest I've ever seen, certainly not like the progress the brat made in a similar time frame, but it's not negligible either." Honestly, even she would admit that using the insane growth the young Rose showed as a comparison to measure one's ability was just cruel, but one couldn't argue against the drive it provided, especially if said person was a close friend of that particular Rose.

People could call her teaching methods whatever they wished, but the fact of the matter was that they worked. Despite her harsh sounding words, Lily was… passable, not up to the standard she held for the role of future right-hand Raven had envisioned her as, but she could survive Beacon's initiation without trouble and could maybe thrive in the Academy as she was now. What others needed four years of training to even attempt, Lily could very well accomplish in half that time and at half their age.

And it was all thanks to her teachings and the spark the brat gave the young girl.

Even her criticisms could be remedied with time and effort, none of which the girl was lacking in. Awareness of one's boundaries and full confidence in one's style would come with experience and the lack of instincts just meant that the girl was like a blank canvas, ready to be developed in whatever way the girl desired so.

Lily blinked at her words before a small, fragile smile spread across her face and she nodded to herself. "T-thank you, ma'am." With that she settled back into her stance, smile still in place but with a more fitting look of determination visible in her eyes.

"Don't let it get to your head," Raven warned and crossed her arms. "You have potential but overconfidence will be the end of you if-…" Her eyes widened and the words died in her throat when she felt something she hadn't felt in years.

Desperation.

Not her own, but she felt it all the same. Just like three years ago, her Semblance alerted her that one of her bonded people's life was in jeopardy. She had her reasons for not interfering last time, well founded ones that still held true even now and encouraged her not to act this time either, however…

"Ma'am?" Lily inquired when she noticed her attention focused elsewhere.

_"Why not just admit that you wouldn't care in the least if either of us died?"_

"Practice's over for today. I have an urgent matter to see to, you're in charge until I return," she cursed under her breath and grabbed her weapon. With little flourish, she opened one of her portals and briskly marched towards it.

That obnoxious brat knew nothing of what he spoke of, but his words still cut all the same.

"Wait, what-?!" She managed to catch the beginnings of the small girl's cries as she passed through to the other side. It was a risk letting the young Maiden lead her men for however long this would take, but it was a calculated one. A trial by fire that would showcase her leadership skills in the event she took longer than expected, it was also a practical lesson for the time she would serve as her right hand. She pushed aside these thoughts for the time being as she emerged on the other side, hand on her sheathed sword she took in her surroundings with a sharp glance.

Summer stood guardedly not far away with her weapons up in a defensive stance. She was visibly exhausted; her shoulders could be seen rising and falling even through her cloak. Her attention was focused on the man before her, tall and built like a brick wall, various Dust crystals sprouted from the figure's arms as the two stared each other down in what she assumed was a momentary pause in their engagement.

Raven quickly realized that it wasn't to last as another, much leaner scorpion Faunus dashed behind Summer, intent on taking her down with his extended blades. Her ex-leader wouldn't be able to react in time, tired as she was and with her attacker coming up in her blind spot.

Her Raven's feet blurred and several blades clashed against each other as she appeared right at Summer's back and blocked the man's strike. Her unexpected arrival proved to be enough of a surprise to allow her to deliver a powerful kick to the shocked man's chest and force him back. Summer jolted behind her and whirled her head around to see what was going on, only for her eyes to widen in shock at seeing her old friend, Raven could also make out a glint of something appear in her silver eyes.

"Rae? What are-" "We'll talk later, focus on them for now!" Raven cut her off as the two moved to stand back to back. Their opponents also collected themselves and were now prowling around the two.

"I know, it's just… I'm glad to see you," Summer said as she stood a little taller than before.

"Save it for later," Raven allowed a roll of her eyes.

"Fine, Black Knight!" Summer called out and charged at the larger man before her. Raven found herself falling into that familiar attack pattern all too easily, for all their differences they operated entirely too well with each other. Summer struck the man's raised arms and Raven appeared from one of her portals at his side to deliver a precise quickdraw before he could even attempt a counter. "White Knight!" This time it was Raven who took the man's attention by attacking him head on while one of Summer's white petals floated behind him. The white clad Rose flashed into existence and delivered a lightning enhanced blow to the man's back. The pincer attack forced the man back several steps and allowed the pair of Huntresses to take the initiative.

The fight might as well have been settled by that point. The original three participants were all winded this late into the fight while she was as fresh as could be. Coupled with their somewhat rusty, but still overwhelmingly effective teamwork, the seasoned ex-partners were able to make short work of their opponents.

That is until she appeared, Raven recalled bitterly.

She called herself Konan, but Raven had seen fit to call her by her title instead; the Summer Maiden.

She wasn't well versed with Ozpin's and Salem's war as well as she once was, but even she knew that the Summer Maiden had been unaccounted for decades. Looking back, it only made sense that Salem was the one with that power hidden under her thumb.

Fighting her and Salem's other two agents at the same time was an uphill battle and it quickly became evident that it wouldn't end in their victory. The Maiden shrugged off all of their attacks like they were annoying bug bites while her cohort took opportunistic shots at them from the sides.

Let it be said that Raven knew when to cut her losses and abandon a hopeless cause.

She focused much of her remaining Aura into her blade and opened one of her portals. The portal itself technically connected to Summer, but was pushed almost beyond its range limit. It was the only sensible choice, opening a direct route to either her tribe or her ex-team would be too dangerous with a Maiden and two of Salem's agents on their heels. Once they put some distance between themselves and their attackers, she could take them back to her tribe safely, but no sooner. With her mind made up, she grabbed a caught off-guard Summer by the shoulder and pushed her through the red portal with the intent to follow.

* * *

Summer hit the sandy ground on the other side with a surprised grunt. Her body was an aching mess, but she forced herself to sit upwards and wait patiently for her wayward friend to follow after her.

She had no delusions about the impossibility of her mission, but she owed it to the world, her family, to try anyway. It could very well have been suicide, that's why she headed out alone, she wouldn't let anyone else sacrifice themselves for what was her duty as one of the last people on Remnant who could bring that wall of flames down and prevent Salem from acquiring what was inside.

She hadn't said any goodbyes, she knew that her team and family would try to stop her if they realized the true nature of her mission, with the exception of Caryll of course. She remembered his plea all those years ago all too clearly and it still hurt her physically whenever she thought about her abandonment of that promise, but bringing him along would have defeated the purpose of her mission. So no, she decided that she would bear that pain and whatever label Caryll would put next to her name. In the end it was their wellbeing that mattered, not hers.

So, she set out into this hellish graveyard on her own, committed to bringing an end to the atrocities her kind suffered for decades. She arrived just in time to witness the execution of one of her distant relatives. The sight of a human being used as a simple tool that was used once and then tossed aside like simple trash made her feel like her stomach was filled with lead. The thought that that person was one of her relatives she could have had the chance of meeting, and maybe connecting to caused her heart to skip several beats. Her mind, momentarily clouded as it was, couldn't keep up with her feet that were already sending her to engage the ones responsible.

It didn't take long for her senses to come back under control, but by then she was already participating in the most heated battle in her entire life. If nothing else then Salem chose her followers well, the two men she faced were a menace to fight against even for someone like herself. In one on one engagements back to back she supposed she could take them down, but the two of them at the same time? She was slowly whittled down by their numerical superiority and downright ferocious fighting styles.

The thought that 'this could be it' occurred to her somewhere during the fight and she found it hard to disprove that possibility…

But then something unexpected happened, Rae came to her aid.

Over the years Summer had realized that she wouldn't be able to rely on her partner anymore, so she learned to plan her actions accordingly. But then Rae did come to her aid when it mattered. The thought caused a small, silly smile to spread on her face. It felt good to be able to rely on her friend again.

Not that these revelations would prevent her friend from receiving her fist in the gut for leaving in the first place, but it was progress on her part.

Her smile however became weaker and weaker as the seconds ticked by and Raven still hadn't appeared on this side. A pit of dread slowly formed in her stomach when the portal began to fizzle with no sign of Raven. Thinking quickly, Summer quickly created a white rose petal out of her rapidly diminishing reserves, stuck it to one of her blades and threw it back through the portal with panicked motions. The petal barely made it through the red event horizon before the portal cut off entirely and left her alone in the dead silence of the desert graveyard.

Summer channeled all her strength into her legs and got to her feet, hissing and grunting thanks to her failing body, she forced herself to walk in the direction she could sense her petal slowly fade away. The panic and desperation was slowly leaving her system and were gradually replaced with the determination to attempt yet another impossibility and acceptance that her fate was all but sealed.

Rae had come to save her and now she was in even greater danger then herself. What kind of leader, Huntress, friend… or person would she be if she turned the other way and ran for her life? She wasn't sure of the exact answer, but she knew very well that person wouldn't be Summer Rose. She would ensure that both of them walked away or that at least she died trying.

She had little strength remaining, she would even have to physically get closer to her petal to attempt to switch places… But it did leave her some time to fulfill another one of her duties at least, one final time. Her hand reached for her Scroll and she began recording.

Back then she didn't know that it would surely end this way, but now…

"Tai, Qrow, I wish it hadn't come to this, but it looks like I can't make it back home this time… Despite trying my hardest, I hadn't managed to change anything at all… All I can do now is apologize and say goodbye…" She hissed quietly as a sore spot on her side flared up. She did her best to ignore it and push onwards. "Tai, dear- I'm sorry I have to leave you alone, but please don't lose your light. You'll make it through this, you're strong and I believe in you…" She trailed off as she could see tears blurring her vision. "Qrow, whatever happens after this, please take care of yourself. I know that I've spent a good few years beating this into your stupid head, but I want to say it again one last time; you're a good person and others love you for it, just make sure that one of those people is yourself, okay…?"

Her finger pressed down on the send button and she started a final recording for one last person.

"Caryll, sweetie… I-I have so many things I want to say to you and not enough time to say even half of it, but I have the feeling you already know some of it, so I'll just focus on what's important," she found herself letting out a pained chuckle, he always seemed to know more than he let on, not that it she ever minded it. "I-I've done a lot of things and I wanted to do even more with you, Yang and Ruby… See you three grow and achieve your dreams, start families of your own and so much more… But it looks like life decided that this would be it for me. I still remember how you described your version of the afterlife and I lived a very eventful life, so I think I'll like it there," she laughed weakly and sniffled. "B-but before I go there, I would like to have a final request if you don't mind, I know it's a long shot and I know that I'm probably not deserving of it in the slightest, but I think it would help me rest," she paused for a moment and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Please forgive me…" For breaking her promise and for leaving them alone. She could bear the resentment of her son without question, but it would ease her rest if he forgave her once.

"I already sent a message to Tai and Qrow and this is my last recording, so I'll say it to you and the girls one last time… I love you three more than anything in the world… and that I'm… so sorry." She cut the message off there as she found it hard to keep her breathing in check. With one final push of a button, she sent the message and stood a little taller. Just in time, as she finally felt comfortable with switching places with her current reserves.

She focused on her Semblance and disappeared in a white flash of light, leaving behind a single white rose petal fluttering in the desert landscape.

Time slowed to a crawl upon her arrival. Taking the current situation in, she saw Raven fighting for her life against three of Salem's agents. Her friend was in a bad spot as she tried to fend off two of their attackers at the same time while the third was charging at her back with his wrist blades extended- No!

Summer could recall that man's Semblance, the ability to completely bypass Aura was a horrific tool and could spell the death of her friend in an instant.

She summoned the last of her strength and threw a petal along with one of her blades at Rae's back. Drained as she was, the action was enough to make her stumble and almost fall over, but she persevered and observed her blade's and that scorpion Faunus' race to Rae's unguarded back in slow motion.

By some divine intervention, her blade overtook the wicked man and allowed her to appear between the two fighters just as the man was about to strike. She raised her blade to block and deflect-

The man's glowing wrist-daggers slid off her blades and disappeared somewhere below her field of vision. For some reason she was pushed against Rae's back and she felt a sharp stinging sensation coming from her abdomen…

"Oh."

Realization dawned on her a few instants later and she slowly looked down to see the dual wrist blades stuck in her chest with copious amounts blood spreading from the wound to cover her black and white clothing. She felt her muscles slacken and her eyes widen in muted shock. Funnily enough the man seemed as surprised as she was, and judging by the sudden complete silence around them, so was everyone else.

"Summer!" Was that Rae? Huh, such a weird tone coming from her. Summer was sure she had heard it once before, but she wasn't quite sure when…

Her friend quickly moved to drive the Faunus back, but all it achieved was making the man forcibly rip out his blades from her body, giving Summer a very detailed view of her own blood splattering over the sands around them. Before she knew it, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, face staring at the sky and the distressed expression of her friend… It was kind of hard to tell because her vision was getting hazier by the moment, but she could swear that those were tears in Rae's eyes…

Heh, so she cared after all…

With those thoughts, she let darkness take over her vision.

* * *

I stared at the Scroll in my hand as the recording reached its end again. Everything was silent for a while if one were to discount the campfire's occasional cracking, letting me and Raven reflect on what we had heard from each other in peace. The sun was finally coming up again, signaling morning and the coming of the new day.

"Thank you…" I said quietly, not quite looking at Raven. She had taken the time to dress her wounds while we recounted the events of the week from our perspectives and was just in the process of putting her shirt back on. All in all, we got off relatively lightly; she had multiple of her ribs broken with little internal damage and my right arm was also broken in several places. With my arm in a makeshift sling and with bandages visible under Raven's shirt, it was needless to say we weren't ready for any kind of serious engagement for some time to come.

"What are you talking about?" Raven asked back while wincing a little, it no doubt hurt her to talk with her chest injury.

"…I know that you're not the kind of person that goes out of their way to help others, let alone at a risk to yourself. But you helped Mom even despite that, so thank you," I explained with a sigh and stashed away my Scroll.

Raven looked away with a scoff, "don't thank me, she was still taken."

"Yeah, but you tried. That's what matters." I raised my head to look at her.

"To whom?" She shot back skeptically.

"To me, Mom, everyone…" I shrugged, making Raven look back at me with a sigh similar to my own.

She didn't feel fit to say anything back and let a contemplative silence that lasted a few minutes.

"How… are you feeling?" To my surprise, Raven broke the silence with the words I've never expected her to say. Looking at her with surprised eyes, I was mildly shocked to see Raven having a somewhat vulnerable if a bit awkward expression and air around her as she regarded me.

"I'm… fine. Why are you asking?" I blinked in confusion.

"The Summer Maiden," Raven said unsurely, as if that explained anything.

"What about her?" I responded obliviously, making her bite back a small groan.

"That woman… She was your first, wasn't she?" She said slowly.

What was she on about? And why the awkwardness and everything? I-

…

Ohh.

"I'm okay… It had to be done," I shrugged equally as awkwardly as her, finally catching on to the meaning behind her words, albeit still a bit surprised at having that conversation with Raven of all people.

"I'm aware of that, but know that it's… alright to feel unsure about yourself or the world after you first take a life. The sensation will fade overtime and-" "I'm fine, really," I cut her off. Raven frowned annoyedly at my interruption, but actually took a moment to observe me a bit closer. I didn't budge under her gaze and her frown was slowly replaced by mild surprise as the seconds ticked by.

"You're actually serious. Don't you feel remorseful?" She said disbelievingly.

"I guess not in the way you would describe it, I feel… bitter and disappointed, I guess," I confessed uncomfortably.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm bitter because even though I gave her every chance to back down, she still made me kill her in the end," I explained. "I'm disappointed because even though she was a menace that needed to be put down, I couldn't end it in another way. No, I don't feel sorry for taking her life, I just feel bitter because it was a waste to kill her." The experience of being dead put a lot things into question, especially when the afterlife I'd experienced was a comfortable one, but experience told me life was still worth living. What good is rest if you're not even tired in the first place? Life was precious, killing was a waste.

"You really don't feel any remorse about killing her?" Raven pressed again, expression more aghast than I've ever seen from her.

"Why do you care? Of all the people I expected to have this conversation with, you're nowhere near the front of the list," I argued guardedly, not really sure where all this questioning was coming from.

"Brat, I'm just try-… You know what, forget it," Raven bit back on whatever she was trying to say and opted to just shake her head and brood in silence. I stared at her questioningly for a while before deciding to just leave it be for now; I've had enough things on my plate as it was.

Contrarily to what I'd expected, finally getting the full story about the disappearance of Summer didn't bring me any clear cut answers or clarity. It only served to pose even more questions than I already had.

If Salem already had a Maiden in her service for this long, why did she wait on enacting her plan of collecting the Relics for another eleven years?

What was so important about those flames?

If those flames were so important as to commit genocide over, why wasn't Ozpin aware of it, or if he was, why wasn't he doing something about it?

Why did it have to be Summer who decided to do something about it?

Why didn't she bring me along?

I got up from the ground without a word and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" Raven called out to me as I marched towards a particular destination.

"Checking out what exactly Mom thought was worth dying over. Please, open a portal to me if I'm not back in around eight minutes," I responded without looking back.

At least I could find out the answer to the first question if nothing else.

It didn't take long for me to reach the violet firestorm that stood like a dark monolith in the middle of this desert graveyard. I stopped just before the wall of flames and observed it thoughtfully for a moment. Its surface shifted and pulsed just like a star, ever changing yet stable.

This thing has been standing here for almost half a century. Did Salem try to break through it for that long? Had everything she tried to send through become a pile of ash? Was it really impossible for nearly everyone to survive this obstacle? To be forced to resort to sacrificing an entire bloodline just to brute force their way through it?

I took a step forward and did something that possibly hundreds before me couldn't. I entered the storm unharmed.

I reappeared in the Kamui dimension and began walking forwards at a sedate pace. I walked, I walked and walked even more as the seconds and minutes ticked by. By the third minute, I decided to pick up the pace just in case I misjudged the distance and ended up running out of Aura, right in the middle of literal hellfire.

Thankfully, I found myself returning to the real world by the fourth minute of my journey. I quickly cut off my Semblance to preserve what little Aura I had remaining and observed my surroundings.

The air was stale from the lack of wind and only weak and violet tinged light filtered through from above, but it was still enough for me to traverse this… tomb? My thoughts trailed off as I caught sight of a figure laid against a large rock not far in front of me. I carefully moved to close in the distance between us, mindful of any other lethal surprises until I got close enough to fully make out the sight that was in front of me.

It was a skeleton garbed in tattered clothes and a cape alongside somewhat rusted looking plate armor. In one of its dead hands lied a short staff that didn't look like it was designed for combat and on its head rested a golden crown decorated with intricately carved gems and other precious stones. My hand reached for the crown and gently took it off the skeleton's skull.

"Osborne, the Last King of Vale, I presume," I murmured. "That's right, this was the site of your last battle and these must be the coronation jewels…" I trailed off as I glanced at the other trinkets made out of precious metals and jewels on his person.

"Worthless scrap metal," I declared in a bored tone and tossed the crown back at the skeleton's ribs before moving onwards.

…

What? I wasn't on this journey for the treasure and it's not like Salem wanted some precious metals from her ex-husband, so she must be after something else that was inside. Besides, how exactly would I be able to sell them? I doubt even Raven would touch them just because of how notorious they were.

I glanced around the dimly lit tomb while walking towards its center, taking in the signs of battle around me; broken boulders, fissured ground and solidified glass surrounded me from all sides. It must have been a battle to see, just from the damage to the environment I could see that they likely held nothing back-

A faint glow captured my attention from further ahead, it looked to be coming from behind another boulder. Curious, I quickly moved to get around the upturned earth and all my thought processes crawled to a sudden halt as I rounded the corner. My breath hitched and my eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

There, in the middle of a small clearing, free from rocks lied another corpse. The clothing on it had tattered and its coloring had almost completely faded away thanks to the passage of time, but I could only presume that the person I was looking at was none other than Arren Gehrman, the First Hunter and one of the greatest traitors of humanity according to stories.

However, that wasn't what held my attention so absolutely.

It was the ethereal looking topaz and gold sword sticking out from his stomach. Its blade emanated a weak glow and produced a constant but gentle humming sound as it stood like an artifact of legend.

My body moved automatically and my feet carried me closer and closer to it until I was directly standing in front of it.

The Relic of Destruction.

It was impossible, I didn't want to believe it, for a moment I even entertained the possibility that this was only a dream, not reality, but then I remembered my mantra. I saw the Relic in front of me, I heard its barely noticeable, gentle humming, smelt the stale smell of decay around me and…

My hand reached for its golden handle and before I knew it, the Relic was firmly grasped in my hand. I pulled it out of the decaying body and held the blade before my face… This was really it, no question about it, but how? Why was this here and not under Shade?

As if reacting to my presence, I felt a quick electric jolt travel from the Relic through my arm and body. It forced my silvery Aura to the surface before disappearing as fast as it came, leaving me at a loss as to what that was.

"I-" I was cut off as the storm of flames around me lost their intensity and then simply faded away into thin air, revealing miles of desolate wasteland around me, I could even see our camp in the distance.

The storm was gone? What others had to suffer for decades I did just like that?

I looked back in the direction of the king's corpse and then back at Gehrman's, my mind was slowly kicking back into gear as it finally had the missing pieces to solve a number of mysteries. I thought back to my meeting with Ozpin and the tale he told Yang and I.

"They dueled here with everything they had, for Ozpin that included the Relic… But they both died and the site of their battle was obscured by fire until today, meaning…" I trailed off with wide eyes. "The Relic was never in the vault under Shade. It remained here with nobody being able to retrieve it…"

So this was it, the reason why Salem wanted to get through those flames, why Ozpin warned me against looking too deep into the story, why Silver Eyed Warriors were hunted until near extinction… Why Summer left on her suicide mission, she wanted to retrieve it and put it back into the vault, out of Salem's reach.

I slowly looked back down at Gehrman's corpse, there was little this place could offer me besides the Relic, but I had to check before moving on, I had no intention on lingering here any longer than I had to. A shattered sword lied by his side alongside a faded satchel bag not too dissimilar from my own. I planted the Relic into the sand beside me for a moment and bent down to take a closer look. I gently opened the bag and took note of its only content; a surprisingly well-preserved journal. I paused for a moment before stowing it away into my own bag, call me overly curious but I remembered Nicholas' words; if I wanted to succeed then I had to learn from the mistakes of my predecessors.

One of Raven's red portals snapped into existence beside me and I took it as my clue to leave this place, there was nothing of value here anymore. I took hold of the Relic again and made to walk through the portal in front of me.

"Brat, what happened to the-" I emerged on the other side just in time for the beginning of another small interrogation from Raven, but the words died in her throat when she saw what I was carrying in my hand. She gaped at the Relic as I made my way to her, where I sat down beside the still burning campfire.

"Did you know about this?" I asked once I settled down and placed the Relic in my lap.

"How-? Why is it-…?" Her face went through a myriad of emotions as she struggled for words. Finally, it settled on rage. "That bastard! That thing is supposed to be in the vault, not in this backwater hellhole! How many other Relics aren't in their vaults? How did he expect us to die to protect these when he even lied about their location? That lying little piece of-"

"Okay, I'll take that as a no," I cut her off before she could lose herself in a tirade. "That means Ozpin didn't tell this to you guys…" I trailed off with a thoughtful frown.

"No, he did not. And the others were too eager to take everything he said at face value," she spat angrily, but I didn't pay much attention to that. Why wouldn't he tell his circle about it if he employed them solely for its protection?

"…Because it was already protected," I muttered with wide eyes. "Ozpin didn't tell you because the Relic was still protected in a vault, just not where everyone would expect it to be. By deceiving you he could divert everyone's attention from the real vault to the decoy vault under Shade. Everyone would struggle to crack open that vault while none being the wiser that the Relic was hidden somewhere else…" I explained out loud, it was ingenious if a bit underhanded, exactly how I would expect Ozpin to handle things.

"All those lies and convoluted schemes, a fat lot of good they did in the end," Raven grumbled while motioning to the camp around us. She was right, Salem somehow caught wind of the ruse and-

"That's why Salem didn't start collecting the Relics even though she had an eligible Maiden. She knew that the vault opened by the Summer Maiden was useless, so she didn't even try unlocking it. She would need to wait until she had a shot at grabbing all of the Relics one after the other… but to do that she would have to first start with the most problematic one…" I rambled loudly until my gaze found the sword in my lap.

"The Relic that you just happened to nick from its real vault," Raven supplied sarcastically, but even I could feel the subdued apprehension showing in her voice. She wasn't an idiot either and knew exactly what it had meant. By irreversibly opening the vault and bringing the Relic out in the open I just managed to speed up the timetable by several years. Maybe the firestorm would have been on the brink of collapse in the future and that's why Salem gave the go ahead to Cinder and the others to start with their plan, but now…

I just gave the all-clear for the possible apocalypse to happen as soon as Salem found another Maiden candidate to open the other vaults with.

"We have to make this right," I swallowed audibly as I looked back up to look Raven in the eye. Raven similarly narrowed her eyes at me.

"What are you planning-" She was cut off by the Kamui portal sucking the divine Relic into my right eye.

…

"What did you just do?" Raven asked slowly, tone incredulous.

"Our only option," I answered with an uneasy expression. "The firestorm is a bust. We can't recreate it and I doubt Ozpin could either. His powers have been dwindling for decades, who knows how much he actually has left after giving you and Uncle Qrow the ability to shift into your namesakes." Cinder, a newly realized Maiden at the time could handily kill him and then go to casually do the same to a prodigal Huntress without breaking a sweat. "We just killed the last Summer Maiden, we don't know where the current one is, I doubt the Maiden herself knows she's one at this point, so Shade is out. The Winter Maiden is too old and sick to move freely, so we can't open the Atlas one either. I'm not willing to put an even larger target on Lily's and consequently your entire tribe's back than you already have and I doubt you know the location of the Beacon vault," I listed with a bitter tone, Raven's increasingly sour expression mirroring my voice.

"It's complicated… but it's out of our reach for now," she grumbled begrudgingly, I gave a grave nod in response.

"This is the only option," I pressed. "Vaults work by containing the Relics in isolated pocket dimensions, just like my Semblance. But it's infinitely better than them. I can be mobile, only I can access it and when I die there will be no successor to my Semblance, my vault will be locked for all eternity with the Relic forever out of Salem's reach," I reasoned.

"Bra-… Caryll, if you do this…" Raven regarded me with a strange expression.

"I will draw the full attention of Salem and her followers for all my life or however long it will take to figure out another solution," I nodded in understanding. "Once word gets out, there is no going back from this, I know."

"But-, you'll be drawn into that damned unwinnable war for all your life-, you're usually smarter than this, just use that damned brain of yours and see-"

"Auntie Raven, it's fine. I never intended to just sit on the sidelines anyways. Please trust me, I can do this." I looked at her imploringly, but even with that she still looked visibly upset.

"You and your mother are just so eager to commit suicide, aren't you?" She said distastefully.

"Do I really have to repeat myself again?" I countered expectantly. The reminder made the older Huntress click her tongue and shake her head.

"…There's just one other thing that I don't get though," I began uncomfortably as a somewhat disturbing question popped into my mind.

"What is it?"

"You said that you didn't know about the Relic as Ozpin kept the knowledge of its real location away from you and from what Konan had said, the only other person that knew the secret was Salem." Raven nodded in confirmation and motioned me to get on with it.

"So then how did Mom knew that the Relic was here?"

I could see the cogs turning in her head and she adopted a similarly conflicted expression. We sat there in tense silence as the dilemma weighed heavily on us. How did she know? How could she have known? Why didn't she tell others?

"…Of all the people I have expected to keep secrets, Summer would be nowhere on that list, not with something so big, something so crucial," Raven muttered under her breath with narrowed eyes. "Since when did she know? Was it after or before I left?" She looked down at the ground with clenched fists. "Why didn't she tell us? Why didn't she tell me? Did she risk our lives for nothing?!"

"Hey, I'm sure she had good reasons," I interjected weakly before she could make any further assumptions.

"More like suicidal reasons, knowing her," she rebutted with a scoff, "I knew she was careless, but this?" She hissed sharply.

"Well, we can get an answer out of her personally," I reasoned. "With you freed, we can rescue her any time. Though the sooner the better, with the Relic out in the open, they may have no reason to keep her alive anymore…" Once they find out about the storm's end, they'll have no use for her anymore and may just kill her.

"No."

The curt statement left me startled for a good few moments before I collected myself and guardedly looked at her.

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I have no intention of participating in that damned war, never again." Raven's eyes found mine and we stared at each other with nearly equal amounts of determination and frustration. Of all the times she could have picked to be her stubborn self, why did it have to be now?

"But you came back, you tried to save Mom. You took down one of Salem's agents already with me," I argued with a hard gaze, making her snort humorlessly.

"Need I remind you of what happened to me because of that? I was trapped inside a block of ice for an entire week, completely at the whims of a deranged lunatic and used as a lowly bargaining chip! I interfered once and was nearly killed for my efforts in a war that wasn't even my own!" She growled heatedly.

"How isn't this your war? We are already in this fight, me, Mom and the others! I know you care about us in your own convoluted way so please, help me," I kept my rising irritation in check and tried convincing her calmly.

"Everyone seemingly needs my help to get what they want. The tribe, Ozpin and now you apparently." Seeing that I was about to interject, she doubled down on her point. "No, I'm tired of being the sacrificial piece whichever side needs me to be in a never ending war. Even with this situation, Ozpin will just figure out a way to keep the status quo as he always does. Sacrifice a few lives and pull a few strings here and there and things will return to how they were before and what they will always be."

"…When I heard Mom's message I set out after her without a second thought. I crossed half the world on my own to find you two and I would gladly cross the other half alone if it means getting her back," I spoke after a while and then stared at her resolutely. "I don't need your help, but I do want it. And you know full well that I would never treat you like that." My words did seem to have some effect on the older Huntress, but to my annoyance it didn't seem to be enough.

"My answer remains the same, but even if I were to agree to this, we aren't in any shape to rescue her," she stated and when she saw that I was about to argue she cut me off before I could even begin. "We just took on one of Salem's followers and this was the result. What do you think would happen if we were to fight even more as we are now?"

"Leave that part to me," I stated confidently without pause. However, Raven seemed far from convinced as she shook her head at me and looked away, content to let an uncomfortable silence linger between us.

"Stubborn mule…" I grumbled under my breath.

"What was that?" Apparently not quietly enough.

"Nothing, just that this conversation is far from over. I'm just taking a minute so both of us can cool off a little." Oh, she was definitely glaring at me now, well, normally I wouldn't be avert to playing that game, but I did have a handy distraction from this argument on me. I reached for my bag and took out the journal I've grabbed from Gehrman's corpse.

"Just so you know, this is Gehrman's journal, your grandmother's team leader's. I've found it beside the Relic. I can read it aloud for you if you're interested." The offer shook her out of whatever thoughts she was wrapped up in. With a dismissive wave of her hand she gave me the go-ahead. Nodding in confirmation that I had her attention I settled the book in my lap and opened it.

…

…

"Well, what does it say?" Raven prompted impatiently.

"Nothing," I said, blinking in confusion as I began flipping pages one after the other. "It's all blank." I held up the book for her to see, apart from slightly yellowed sheets of paper, there was nothing inside the book, no text nor any pictures.

"What moron would carry an empty journal with themselves into battle? Clearly, he really did lose his mind as they say," Raven scoffed disinterestedly, but I wasn't about to be dissuaded just yet. I stared at the strange book in my lap with a thoughtful frown.

"…Maybe it was written with some sort of invisible ink? The kind that needs UV light to be visible?" I theorized out loud, but Raven immediately shot that idea down.

"Again, what idiot would carry a book and a UV light to read it with to battle? Just forget it, the man was an unstable psychopath." While what she said was true on a lot of levels, it still wasn't enough to deter me.

According to Nicholas, Gehrman wasn't an idiot, a menace yes, but not an idiot. He wouldn't make mistakes like this. But assuming that if he did use an invisible ink, how could he utilize it? The point of invisible ink was that it would only appear under specific circumstances. It was used to keep confidential information between those select few who had the means to read it. That would mean that he was able to read it somehow, but how? Apart from the book itself, there was nothing else on his person-

It was maybe because I was tired or distracted until now with the back to back revelations of today, but just now I could feel a weird tingling sensation brushing against my hand, it was a very familiar feeling.

It was Aura. The book was imbued with Aura, quite a lot actually.

In any other case, I would have been a bit freaked out, knowing that Aura eventually faded without a living person to cling onto. But seeing the man's decayed corpse for myself did wonders to assuage my worries that a nearly unstoppable mass-murderer was somehow still alive and on the loose. No, the only logical explanation would be that the Aura in the book still managed to cling onto it for half a century after its owner's death.

It might have been some Aura technique or just a simply exorbitant Aura level at the start, but it did manage to impress me nonetheless.

Intrigued, I rotated the book in my hand and was perplexed to feel different amounts of Aura brushing against my fingers at different parts of the journal. I would normally chalk it up to the effects of decay, but something just simply didn't add up.

"Why infuse a book with Aura?" I muttered out loud. Weapons and armor I get, but why a simple book? And why was it the only distinctive thing about this journal? It simply made no sense… Unless.

A metaphorical light bulb went off over my head and I closed my eyes momentarily.

_"…You remind me of someone I've met a long time ago. His eyes were of the same brilliant silver color like yours…"_

I opened my eyes again, but this time they were glowing warmly at the hard-cover book before me. To my sudden elation, the previously unseen Aura I felt was now visible in what looked like a bowl of glowing crimson spaghetti. I quickly reopened the book on the first page with excited movements and wondered at what I was finally seeing.

Words, paragraphs and actual text alongside drawings. All in the red color of the First Hunter's Aura.

"The madman wrote with Aura!" I declared to Raven, who was now paying attention to me again. "He must've infused Aura into a pen and wrote with it. The perfect invisible ink that's only visible to people with Silver Eyes!" According to Nicholas, the only other person with Silver Eyes in their group was my great-grandfather, someone that Gehrman must have trusted enough to use this method. Otherwise the number of people who could read it even back then were few and far in between. Today I was likely one of the few people still alive that could read it.

"Congratulations on having been born with a flashlight in your head, now read it already," Raven drawled sarcastically, ignoring her tone and settling back to my spot, I did just that.

"_To whoever may be reading this, I'm Arren Gehrman, licensed Hunter and leader of Team ASHE. What you're holding in your hands right now is… Truth be told, I have no idea what this is. My lost attempts at self-reflection? A repository of my findings and knowledge? Or simply my efforts to stave off boredom that's sure to come?_

_Or I suppose I could call this the truth. I'm aware that we've grown to be well-known figures over the years in many different ways and that our sudden disappearance will surely be noticed. Now more than ever, I'm uncertain of what the future holds but I'm sure that there will be many variations of our tale going around. This mémoire of sorts serves to give you the truth, the unfiltered and unedited version of it from our perspective._

_You may wonder then as to why I'm writing this with Aura if that's my intention. Well, the answer is rather simple; I have nothing else to write with, with maybe the exception of my own blood. But I suppose this would work out as well, if you are able to read this, then you are one of my kind, in which case you'll be likely to end up in Osborne's employ anyway. If that comes to pass then you'll especially need to hear our story, our mission to find and safeguard the Fountain of Youth from Her forces._

_Or as I've recently learned its real name, the Domain of Light."_ I trailed off with wide eyes. My fingers automatically moved to the next page where I saw something that made my breath hitch.

It was a rather detailed drawing of an underground lake with a strange tree standing in the middle of it, as seen from the sandy shore.

My eyes darted to Raven, only to see her looking confusedly at me and the book. That's right, she didn't know the significance of that place, what had transpired there or its still present danger… Honestly I've forgotten about it too, which is a grave oversight from my part. That place is almost a bigger threat to humanity than the Grimm! If anyone were to find it still standing they could become immortal just like Salem!

"_I suppose I should begin with the war, the last battle specifically. I still find it ironic, but it turned out all of what would later become our circle fought there, albeit on different sides. I've even met Henryk and Kara at one point now that I think about it. Probably some of the others too, but it's hard to tell, it was chaos on the battlefield until Osborne stopped the fighting all by himself. A few days later we've been formally introduced to each other and agreed to work together. At first there was little trust thanks to having come from different sides of the war, but we made it work out of respect and loyalty to Osborne. Thankfully, trust came with time and soon we've learned to rely on each other like he hoped we would. And so Team ASHE was born._

_Our time in Shade and Karnacca is well known, so there is no point in reiterating it now. Instead I'll continue with our mission given to us by Osborne. He told us the truth of the world, told us about her and her intentions…. needless to say, after experiencing death and destruction all our lives we were determined to put an end to it and ensure this peace would endure. We unanimously agreed to help him and he told us about her immediate goal of finding the legendary Fountain of Youth, our goal would be to find it before her and protect it at all costs. All the while being assigned a Relic for safekeeping until the Academies and vaults have been built._

_It was a complicated task, the lamp's last question had been used by Kara back in the war and it wouldn't recharge for some time, but we weren't deterred. We split up and scoured the world for any clues we could find. The others searched through historical records, folk and fairy tales and the like, while I took on a more hands on approach. I searched long abandoned ruins to find anything that could be of use. In my investigation of Grimm infested lands, I've uncovered older and older ruins until I've found one that stood out from the rest._

_Some ways south of Karnacca, beneath hundreds of meters of sand and stone, I've found an anomaly. A city older than any other civilization I've ever heard of, relatively well preserved and easy to explore. That wasn't the most unexpected thing about it however, it was the Dust crystals jutting out from the underground chamber's ceiling and the layer of ash covering every single street._

_I've found my first clue there and we've soon learned to focus our search on places like these; unrecorded and buried ruins unlike any other._

_We've come across many during the years but we still weren't fast enough. On one occasion Eileen and I ran into one of her agents during an exploration of a ruin. We've fought and won handily but not before they revealed something disturbing._

_We were focusing on the wrong enemy for all those years. They weren't Salem's followers, or at least not anymore. Upon learning of her immortality and being denied the opportunity to achieve it themselves, they defected and begun searching on their own. What's more, by that time they did manage to find this place, but excavating it took time. I don't know exactly how long, but it was enough time for us to gather the others and head out after them. If we had a direction in the first place, that is._

_That's when I took a gamble, there's an ancient legend surrounding the Fountain I've learned from studying one of the ruins. I don't really remember the actual story, it told of a person on a path of revenge or something along those lines. But I do remember a particular trait of theirs that was crucial to the story. They had drowned in its water and they were blessed with eternal life._

_The only immortals I knew of were Osborne and Salem. Osborne denied knowing of the Fountain's location and I believed him, that meant the only choice I had left was asking her…_

_Finding her had been easier than I'd imagined, surviving an audience with her not so much. Her thinly veiled hostility to my kind however quickly disappeared upon hearing the details of my mission. After some strange questions that I'd answered to the best of my ability, she surprised me by not only admitting to knowing of the Fountain, but actually pinpointing its exact location. She then let me go, when I'd asked her why she was so helpful she just replied that it was time mankind left that wretched place alone, alongside its curse. She cast that place into the depths for a reason, she said._

_I didn't understand what she had meant at the time, so I left without a word and with the others made our way to the Domain of Light._

_And this is where you would likely hear of us last. We stormed this place just in time to see the defectors finish their excavation. We'd fought, we'd killed most of them and then proceeded to make our way towards the underground lake with Osborne remaining on the surface and dealing with any stragglers. We'd arrived by the fountain to witness their leader jump into the lake and then drown themselves in it. That person then walked out to shore and engaged us._

_It was something else, fighting what was essentially a walking god. We fought, we struggled and then… we died._

_We died, but not for nothing. We weren't Team ASHE for nothing, I've eventually found out a method to take away their immortality by separating their "curse" from their soul for a time, effectively robbing them of its benefits for a little while._

_But before I could do anything, the way back to the surface collapsed. It wasn't natural, nor was it a freak accident, it was intentionally blocked off by what looked like magic… by Osborne._

_It eats away at me even now. Why did he do it? Did he think we were dead? Or that our fight was a lost cause? That maybe he could trap that person down here for all eternity? Whatever he thought, by trapping us down here, he just as good as sentenced us to death._

_Henryk was the first, then Eileen, followed by myself when I implemented my idea and was then cut down immediately after. Kara was the last when she managed to take down that person, though she bled out soon after I think._

_How am I writing this if I'm dead, you wonder? Well, I wasn't the only one who heard the legend about the Fountain it seemed, because Kara tried something that not even the legend said anything about._

_Before she died herself, she pushed my dead body into the water._

_Being woken up to feel yourself drowning in an underground lake was the most jarring and disturbing experience of my entire life. After managing to drag myself out of the water I promptly passed out on the shore, only to reawaken sometime later._

_And that brings us to the present. With no real way out and only a slim chance at rescue, I took the time to lay the others to rest and write this journal. I don't know what else I could do, I won't revive the others because… What I saw in my last few minutes alive and resurrection have consequences. My eyes have changed somehow, I don't know how, but I can feel them. My body feels like its submerged in water, all the time. I can hardly sleep as every time I dream, I find myself in that dark and warm place, only to be ripped back to reality upon awakening._

_Being alive feels unnatural… wrong. I wouldn't wish this upon them._

_But I've decided that I would get out of here, not so I could live, but because I can't rest until I know what had happened and why. Asking Osborne is out of the question, I don't know if I'd be able to trust him even if he seemed truthful. No, the only way I can get an answer is by asking the lamp. By my count it would recharge in five years' time. Meaning I'd have to wait until then._

_I'd have to live until then…" _I read in a subdued tone and then looked at the other pages. There were countless illustrations and theoretical works spanning almost the entirety of the book; Aura theory and applications, notes on Silver Eyes, the Relic of Destruction and the like. I skipped all of those and arrived at the last page of the book to see another message.

"_I've finally managed to dig myself out, now I'd wait and then receive my answer." _I paused for a moment as another paragraph followed, but the small and neat handwriting that I have gotten used to by that point was replaced by messy and large letters. _"I have received my answer. I now know everything about those two monsters… I knew that we had somewhat differing visions, but to resort to this? He never intended to even take us or our ideals seriously! He just took them for himself and twisted them into his own image, just so he can have his readily disposable peacekeepers! He would have them dedicate their lives to the protection of mankind while putting a damned leash around their necks! He'd set them up for-… He had set us up for failure._

_This- this horrifying system can't stand…_

_I've grown to abhor living, but for the sake of the others who'd died, for the sake of those he would trap in this system, for the sake of the world this can't be allowed to continue. It makes me sick to my stomach, but I only see one way to end this. Peaceful talks won't work, Osborne made that abundantly clear when he betrayed and murdered us… Even if I've tried, he controls everything, he would brand me a lunatic and silence me again… No, all that's left is war._

_After all this time, I have received my answer, now they will hear my response," _I finished reading and found ourselves sitting in uncomfortable silence. I didn't know what to say, I knew that there was probably more to their story than it seemed, but this? How could Ozpin do this? As much as a shadowy figure he was, outright betrayal and murder wasn't like him…

"Do you understand now?" I heard Raven say quietly. I looked up to see her not quite looking at me with a bitter expression. "Salem can't be beaten and Ozpin would never stop this senseless war. He'd rather use and then discard us to keep this illusion of peace going on. We are nothing but expendable pawns in their schemes, if only the others could see it too."

I received her words with silence, opting to instead study the page before me. Did Ozpin and them have different views on what Hunters should be? Why was it so important to have escalated to this? And what did he mean by "set up for failure"…? My fingers traced the edges of the page as my thoughts drifted to Gehrman specifically.

I remember Ozpin telling me that I somewhat reminded him of Gehrman, but reading his thoughts and experiences now…

He saw everything. The lamp showed him the truth, that's probably why the Jinn only had two questions left in the future. He had died and was pulled back into the world of the living against his will. He'd tried to make the world a better place…

"He really was just like me…" I mumbled quietly with soft eyes.

"What did you just say?" The words pierced through my heart and my eyes darted back up to find Raven staring straight at me with hard eyes.

...How much of that did I say out loud?

* * *

If one were to wonder about Raven's relationship with her godson, they would soon find out that the answer to that, along with most things concerning her, was rather complicated. Perhaps the best way she could explain it is by starting at the beginning, around the time she realized she was pregnant.

It came as a shock to her at the time and for a while she was plagued by indecision on what she should do. Her decision to leave was made even before she figured out her condition, but the question remained on what she should do with… her child. She disliked children and Raven was no fool, she knew she wasn't cut out for motherhood, she knew that her… unique upbringing was far from normal. Their mother had died in childbirth and their father neglected them all their lives, leaving her with little to no positive idea as to how a parent should be. In fact, she grew to loathe her father with a passion that simmered even to this day. Not to mention that children simply didn't last in the tribe. Not in the sense that they were left behind or something similar, but because the nature of their lifestyle killed any children in short order and replaced them with adults.

No, she decided that she would leave the child behind, they would only get in the way otherwise. It was best for everyone involved.

And it's not like the child would be left completely alone. Raven only had to look at Summer and her brat to know that the child would be in good hands.

That was the decision she made back then and stood by firmly for years.

But then that damned brat had to get involved.

She had interacted with him before her departure for a while and had grown to get along with him on some level. He was very odd for a kid and maybe that was what had gotten her curious about him and what eventually led to her making the mistake of taking him to the tribe one day.

She still doesn't know whether to curse that day or not.

But the fact remained that after that day, she was forced to interact with the brat on a nearly daily basis, thanks to his little friendship with the annoying Spring Maiden and her promise of training him in exchange of his promise.

She taught him. He did his best to get under her skin by casually insulting her on a regular basis. She returned the favor by doing the same and regularly beating him into the ground. They had discussions over tea and did many other simple, meaningless things until one day when he left to go back home, she felt something that terrified her to the core.

A part of her looked forward to seeing him again.

She, Raven Branwen, accomplished Huntress and leader of the Branwen tribe felt herself caring about someone for the first time after cutting away all of her bonds. It was so shocking in fact that she needed an entire hour to get her thoughts in order.

She looked back on their relationship up to that point in detail and found herself appalled. The brat constantly sought her company on his own accord, forcing her to spend time with him. Gods, he even reminded her of herself in some ways. The stubbornness that was a different brand form Summer and more like her own, the cunning and underhanded ways he used to get his way… Did he learn that from her? More importantly, she had realized that the way a part of her felt about him was like…

It felt like the brat was her own.

It made her sick in the stomach. Not because she disliked him, but because of the can of worms the thought opened.

Despite his countless attempts to annoy her and generally make her life miserable, that part of her enjoyed having him around. And even if he was strange for a kid, there wasn't anything overtly wrong about him, despite continued exposure to her for years. It made her wonder if she made the right decision back then-

No. That couldn't be. Her reasons were valid back then and they still were. The brat was just a weird exception that didn't make sense in the circumstances, he seldom did. She did her best to squash that specific part of her, even if it proved to be a surprisingly persistent thought and moved on. She made the right decision and that was the end of it.

At least that's what she thought it'd be, but the brat caught her off guard yet again.

That obnoxious little bastard forced her to acknowledge him- and his declaration after, just like his mother… She doubted he even knew it, but that was enough for that part of her to come back with vengeance and this time there was no dismissing it.

And so, she was forced to begrudgingly accept the presence of that part of her, leaving her conflicted on what to think for years.

She cared about him like he was her own, but she also resented him for making her doubt herself. The thought that she could have made the wrong decision about something like that was just unimaginable.

But she decided to try to be something she wasn't anyway. If the brat wouldn't leave her alone, the least she could do was try and minimize the damage her influence could have on him. She owed it to Summer to try. She, Raven Branwen, tried her hand at being an at least somewhat responsible parent.

And that's how the last few years have gone by. With each passing year and no visible negative effect on the brat, that part of her grew more and more vocal, making her more conflicted than ever before…

Then this day happened. The two of them fought one of Salem's agents and killed her. More specifically, the brat killed her, marking the first time he took someone's life. Raven knew that this occasion was crucial to the person involved and how damaging it could be if handled incorrectly. She knew that first hand because she didn't receive any words after her first time, apart from her father's neutral gaze and quickly uttered "be faster next time".

The bastard.

So, with the simmering fury of that memory and her silent promise to Summer in mind, she pushed aside her pride and awkwardness and tried to console the no doubt conflicted brat.

Except he wasn't conflicted at all.

Surprised and a little bit wary, she pressed on and shortly found out that he didn't need help at all. The brat was fine, fine enough to make a jab at her that in the current circumstances actually hurt her.

It appalled her.

Was this her influence finally showing? Was she messing up Summer's brat? In a weird way she didn't know what answer she would like to hear. If it was her fault then it proved that her decision was the right one, but meant that she had failed Summer in her promise. The other option was equally worrying, if in different ways…

Being a parent made Raven want to tear her hair out in frustration…

Alongside the other, unpleasant revelations the day has brought for her so far, it was safe to say that she wasn't in the best place as of this moment. The image she held of her best friend has become hazier. Hiding something of that magnitude from them for who knows how long? Who knows how many other things she kept from them? How many times she told them everything was fine, when in reality everyone's life was in jeopardy? And then finding out that her grandmother also followed Ozpin, then promptly paid the price for it left her in bad spirits to say the least.

And then the brat just had to choose this day to catch her off guard again.

"What did you just say?" Raven asked suspiciously upon hearing her godson's words. Caryll's eyes shot up to meet hers. Expression filled with momentary panic, he struggled for words.

"I-I…" Upon finding none, he swallowed and looked back at the ground resignedly. "Have you ever wondered how the world would be if you've never existed?" She found her eyes narrowing even further at hearing those words.

"What are you getting at?"

"Unlike others, I don't have to wonder. I know exactly how it would be… How it will be." He said uncomfortably, his eyes not willing to meet with hers.

"Brat, just what do you know?" She pressed again, not satisfied with that vague answer in the slightest.

"A possible future. A horrible one, one I'd swore to prevent," he answered and looked through her distractedly. He then let out a humorless chuckle, "I guess that's something common in me, Gehrman and Ozpin. Aside from having been ripped back from the afterlife."

"I don't know how it's possible, but this is my second life; I've lived one before where I've learned what was to happen if I didn't intervene," he said at last as he finally collected himself enough to hold her gaze. Raven let a moment pass to process the information, then her eyes widened in understanding.

"How did you- No, why didn't you tell me?" She cut herself off, opting to focus on what was important right now. She schooled her expression to her practiced neutral one and watched as the brat shrugged.

"Because it doesn't matter."

And just like that, it suddenly got a lot harder to maintain that façade.

"…What?" She said slowly, voice dripping with skepticism.

"I've learned that the future isn't set in stone. Knowledge of a future that I'm hell bent on changing means nothing. I've already made positive changes that ensure our future would be at least somewhat better than the one I saw and I'm nowhere near done making changes," Caryll explained, however it only served to convert that doubt to irritation in her.

"So, you've lied about yourself for years just because you thought it didn't matter?" She questioned dangerously. Did the brat honestly see no problem with what he was saying?

"That knowledge doesn't change who I am. I'm still the person I always was," he defended, posture beginning to slightly mirror her own. Raven stared at him hard for a few moments before laughing humorlessly to herself.

"I can't believe it; you even deflect it like he did… and your insistence on making me rejoin this war. You're just like Ozpin." That got a reaction out of the brat as he looked genuinely offended to be compared to the reincarnating wizard.

"I've reincarnated like him, but that's where our similarities end-"

"If lying your whole life doesn't change who you are, that just means you're a two-faced bastard who has no qualms about misleading others," she cut him off with a venomous glare. Her explanation actually got him to shut up for a moment as he found himself at a loss of words. "No, you two are only similar in the things that matter," she leered at him for a bit before standing up.

"I-" he scrambled to say something, only to cut himself off as he noticed that she was walking away. "Where are you going?" He called out and likewise got up to follow her, much to her annoyance.

"Away from this pointless discussion. I have nothing to say to you." With those curt and cold words, she opened one of her portals back to the tribe.

"What, you're going to run away from this, just like with all your other problems so far!?" She heard him yell behind her, but she ignored the stinging feeling they caused with practiced ease and stepped through the pulsing red portal.

Only to find the brat on the other side, already glaring at her determinedly.

"Leave me alone," Raven growled and turned away to open another portal. Damned brat was a lot faster than her in her current condition.

"I've told you that I'd follow after wherever you'd run to. Look, I hate seeing us arguing like this just as much as you do, but we need to talk about this.," he declared to her retreating form. She was having none of it however and prepared herself to step through the red event horizon.

Only to see the portal warp before her eyes in a whirlpool of air and then disappear into thin air. She paused in momentary confusion, but then cursed under her breath as she saw the brat standing with his hand extended where the portal once was.

"Aren't you stubborn," she stated more than asked with unrestrained contempt.

"Yeah, I learnt it from you," the brat countered with hard eyes before adopting a somewhat softer expression. "Please, we have to talk about this," he pleaded.

"I have nothing to say to you. Now leave me alone!" She spat and turned around to walk away. Upon doing so she noticed most of the tribe staring at them like they were that night's entertainment, she also noticed the young Spring Maiden falling into step beside her and animatedly trying to catch her attention, rambling about how difficult it was keeping the camp together and how glad she was to finally see her. Raven subtly glanced around the camp, everything seemed in order and the girl was still in one piece, which was to be commended. She sent a warning glare around the camp, which got everyone to look everywhere but at her. Good, she even managed to keep them in line-

"So that's how much our oath means to you!?" The brat yelled at her retreating back. She grit her teeth and yelled back.

"Bonds based on lies mean nothing to me!"

"Fine, if you won't listen, then I will have to make you listen," Raven heard him say, followed by the sound of a mecha-shift weapon being drawn. That got her to stop in her tracks and turn around, only to see the young Rose holding his weapon in a one handed stance. She was momentarily baffled by his sheer audacity before she collected herself and faced him with crossed arms.

"You have some nerve, threatening me in the middle of my own camp like that," she decided to call out his bluff. There was no way he would risk fighting her and the entire tribe while injured. Heads swiveled all around the camp in the direction of the brat, not all of them were comfortable with the idea of fighting with him, they had seen what he was capable of over the years, but most were.

"Not if I'm challenging you to be the next leader," he countered seriously, making her expression sour even more. Damned brat, only he would use that as a pretext to force her to listen. It wasn't like she could deny him either, by all rights he was entitled to a duel with her. The crowd looked back to her as one, awaiting what her response would be.

"Stupid brat… Into my tent, now," she growled after a few seconds of tense silence and then turned around to march into her tent, not even bothering to see if he was following her. Fighting as they were now would be just an exercise in stupidity, which was more up Qrow's alley than hers.

Upon entering her tent, she unclasped her weapon and threw it beside her bed with all the finesse she could muster at that time, which was to say none at all, and sat down on the edge of her bed with her hands already on her temples.

This day had, without a doubt, etched itself into her memory as the worst day in her entire life, and it was still going downhill. Just how many more disturbing revelations was she going to have? How many unsettling secrets would she have to hear before it was over? Maybe it would have been better I she hadn't done things halfway back then and cut all contact with her old life.

Maybe remaining as involved as she has been was a mistake…

"Why did you come after us? What do you have to gain from going against Salem?" She said out loud when she heard the flaps of her tent open and the sound of light footsteps coming closer to her. The irritation and outright anger she felt was nowhere near gone, but she did her best to keep it in check for now. She heard him come to a halt not far in front of her, followed by a few moments of lingering silence that made her frown.

Why wasn't he answering? Was he thinking up a convenient lie or something? She adjusted one of her hands to allow her to look up at him with one eye-

His face was red, not overtly but it would get there in time. He turned his head away a slight bit in what was probably a contemplative gesture, but Raven wouldn't be surprised if he did that to hide his face from her.

"I have nothing to gain from going against her. I just wanted to find Mom and you. You know that," he answered and tried to hide a sniffle. And now she found herself questioning this change in attitude. Was it another ploy to get her sympathy or something similarly futile? Her godson knew her, being this pitiful in front of her would only get under her skin, nothing more.

"Do I? Right now, I don't really know what to think with all the secrets I'm hearing from people I suspected the least." She wanted to hear him say it. Admit that he had some ulterior motive like seemingly everyone else had in this shadow war. Why would he be different form the rest? Caryll visibly flinched at her words and let out a remorseful sigh.

"I-… You're right, I'm sorry. Even if it didn't matter to me, I shouldn't have expected others to feel the same way," he admitted ashamedly, making her bite back a nasty sneer of her own.

"Oh, look at that quick change of heart. I wonder what happened to being righteous and stubborn?" Her head rose to stare at the young Rose critically. Showing such obvious weakness to her and then quickly changing angles? Just why-

"Right now, I don't care about being right. I just don't want to lose you." Oh, that would explain it. "Please, I know you're upset, but we can't stop now. If we do Mom dies and Salem will go after the Relics-"

"Salem can't be defeated. It's pointless to try and stop her. You would only send yourself and others to death." Even to herself she sounded like a broken record, but he needed to hear this and he needed to understand it. She would say it as many times it was needed to get the point through his thick skull.

"...When did you forsake yourself?"

"What?"

"This isn't you. I know you're troubled and that you have your own set of glaring flaws, but despite that you still have admirable traits that I've grown to look up to over the years. But then every time Salem or the war is mentioned, it's like you're a different person, one without those redeeming qualities. Worse, I see that fake you more and more. You allow her to make all the decisions in your stead. She's ruining you and it's painful for me to watch. So tell me, when did you give up on yourself and allow her to take control?"

"I didn't give up anything-"

"-Then why are you here in the middle of nowhere, hiding in the woods? Why did you leave us? Why aren't you willing to save your friend?" His tone wasn't accusatory, but rather genuinely confused as to what she thought she was doing. For that she did her best to reign in her frustration, somewhat.

"Are you really in any position to lecture me? I'm not a coward, a liar, a traitor or anything you think I am! I'm only doing what's necessary to survive and get away from that pointless war!"

"I can understand not believing in any side of this war… After learning what I have today, I'm not really sure what I should believe either, but this war isn't simply about deciding which underhanded immortal we should sell our souls to or about killing whoever stands in our way in someone else's name. We can fight on our own terms, we can fight not to achieve their goals but to keep each other safe… Their war will soon grow to embroil the entire world and you'll be dragged back no matter how much you'll try to struggle. Then the only people you'll have left to watch your back will be us."

"But it doesn't have to get to that point. You know my Semblance, even if she is immortal I can imprison her permanently and no amount of magic will be able to help her. I can stop her, I can end this before it even begins, but I can't do it alone and-… and you don't believe any of the words I say, do you?" He desperately tried to convince her, only to suddenly lose all of his momentum upon noticing her entirely indifferent expression.

"If you hadn't slipped up just now, how long did you plan on keeping the truth from me?" She asked with false calmness. Caryll tried to form words, only to come up blank. His shoulders sagged and he looked ashamedly at the floor as tears formed in his eyes. Raven took the silence as confirmation enough and shook her head with a dismissive scoff.

"I-I understand… If I can't convince you to trust me, then there's only one person who can," the brat wiped his eyes with the fabric of his cloak and then turned to the entrance. "Lily! Come in, please!"

As if on cue, a surprised yelp could be heard from just outside, followed by the entrance of the flustered young girl into her tent. "Sorry for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help but be curious after the scene outside…" She explained sheepishly, but stopped herself upon seeing that neither of them were in the mood. "…So anyways! How can I help?" Caryll took the cue and turned back to face her again.

"Do you have any bonded people near Mistral?"

"Even if I did, why would I tell you?" Raven rebuffed dismissively.

"One last favor if I can't change your mind, please," he smiled at her. It was a weak and fragile one that was so unlike of him. It just served to make her day even more miserable than it already was.

"…Qrow's in Haven currently, why? What are you planning?" She said at last, giving in to that side of her again. As to why her brother would be there of all places, she wasn't sure. Maybe he was betting on finding her and then asking her to take him to Summer, asking Leonardo for any clues could lead him in the right direction eventually. Meaning she would have another annoying relative visiting her sooner or later…

"Something that I should have done ages ago…"

* * *

Reality warped before her eyes and soon she found herself back in the real world alongside the young Spring Maiden. A quick look around showed unfamiliar surroundings; a wide pathway led towards a large golden doorway and a tree in the middle of what seemed to be an underground cavern. Beside the pathway laid darkness, though the quiet sound of moving water from down below confirmed that it wasn't a bottomless drop. A final glance behind allowed her to see the elevator shaft leading back up to the surface, the elevator itself was nowhere in sight.

Raven had never seen it with her own eyes before, but she could only guess at where they were currently at.

"Is this the Haven vault?" She turned to look at the young Rose. He looked a bit more collected than back in the tent, but his normal confident nature was still nowhere to be found.

"Yes, getting through security is surprisingly easy with my Semblance, but I'm sure we have tripped a silent alarm or something by now, so we'd better hurry," he shrugged weakly and made to walk towards the giant golden doorway.

"Why are we here?" She asked cautiously and made to follow a few steps behind. She already had a pretty clear idea, but one couldn't afford uncertainty in matters this important.

"Looking for the only person who may be able to convince you of my sincerity," Caryll sighed tiredly. "Lily, could you please place your palm on the door and flare your powers?" He asked when they reached the strange doorway that sealed away the Relic she spent years protecting. She only now realized how bitterly ironic it was that she had no real idea what it even looked like.

"Oh, sure," the up until now quiet Faunus spoke and walked up right to the magical seal as asked. "Like this?"

It took a couple of seconds, but the action did have an effect. The magically sealed lock unraveled before their eyes in the form of folding flower petals. After the process had taken its course, they were greeted with the visage of a strange desert land unlike the one they came from. The air seemed warped; grains of sand hovered in clusters at seemingly random locations and the area was illuminated, even without any visible light sources in sight.

In the center of it all, hovering upon a small pedestal was the Relic of Knowledge.

Caryll wasted no time and marched straight through the threshold, only to come to a halt immediately after and then lift a hand to carefully caress his right eye.

"What is it?" She asked cautiously and made sure to stay away from that strange place. Who knows what magic Ozpin built into that place?

"Nothing, just my Semblance acting up," he answered after a few moments before shaking his head. Disregarding his unreal surroundings, he walked straight up to the lamp shaped Relic and snatched it off of the podium. He then returned to them, just outside the still open vault and stopped right before her.

"You know what this is."

"Yes."

"Ozpin didn't tell you what it could do."

"No, he did not."

"…Seeing that you don't trust me at all now, all I'll say is that her name is Jinn. Say it to summon her and she will tell you the rest," he sighed and held out the Relic for her to take. "Ask her if you could… just ask her whatever you think could resolve this between us." She said nothing and slowly extended her hands to take away the ethereal lamp. She stared neutrally at the glowing artifact in her hands for a few minutes, not sure what to think at this point.

Her godson broke into a vault and stole a Relic just to give it away to her as an attempt at reconciliation. He did it because of her… Fine, let it be said she risked getting burned one final time.

"Jinn."

As soon as the word was uttered the world around her stopped. The sound of water dripping ceased and the Maiden and the brat stilled as if they became overly realistic statues. Her eyes darted around the cavern to find whatever had caused this, only to feel the lamp slowly float away from her grasp and release a turquoise mist from itself. The mist swirled around and then coalesced into a cohesive form, one of a naked woman. The transformation left her mesmerized. She had witnessed some accounts of magic in her time, transformations more so, but this one felt… different. The ghostly woman stretched and moaned in pleasure upon being released before turning her attention to her shocked self.

"Hello, I am Jinn. A being created by the God of Light to aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. I've been graced with the ability to answer three questions every one hundred years. You're in luck, as I'm still able to answer two more questions this era," the floating giantess explained and looked down at her, patiently awaiting her response. Blinking away her shock, Raven quickly looked around to see if anything had changed or that if it was just some prank played by the brat. Sadly, the situation wasn't quite simple as that.

"This is real…" Raven muttered after pinching her skin once, just to be sure.

"Of course it is, dear. Hmm, I can tell your thoughts dwell on this boy. He's such an interesting anomaly, isn't he? Having managed to slip between the cracks separating worlds on his own, even if he didn't do it on his own volition? In any other case I would have called it the work of the divine… Oh, but I'm digressing, tell me, what knowledge do you seek? I can guarantee on the authority of the Gods that you will receive nothing but the truth." Jinn regarded the young Rose like one would a particularly interesting puzzle or mystery before turning her attention back to Raven, who was similarly staring at the young boy, albeit with more conflicting emotions.

She didn't doubt the spirit's claim, living inside the Relic of _Knowledge_ and made by the very Gods themselves served as a good enough resume in her book, but it posed another troubling thought to her. The brat wanted her to ask how they could fix this, how she could trust him again. He wanted to use one of those questions so they could reconcile.

Raven clutched her head as she felt a migraine setting in, why couldn't he and his damn mother make sense? One minute he does something she'd never expected him to do and in the next he's back to his self that she'd gotten used to over the years, why couldn't they just be like everyone else and stay consistent?!

…

It might just be _that_ part of her again, but for some unfathomable reason she wanted to forgive him… He was remorseful about lying, even she could see that now with the proof he presented, and was genuinely trying to make things better between them.

But forgiving him was equal to her joining the fight again, there was simply no in-between. If she relented then she would have to help Summer and get wrapped up in this fight. Worse, if he ended up being right about Salem, then she would be inevitably wrong, and that was inconceivable. But if she didn't help then her godson would resent her for all his life. The first option was suicide at best with other similarly disturbing implications added in and the second greatly upset _that_ part of her again.

Damned if she did, damned if she didn't, she started to doubt she even wanted to ask anything…

Her eyes wandered to Caryll's frozen ones and studied them closely. There was hope in them, but there was also something else. Resignation? Did a part of him doubt her?

"_What, you're going to run away from this, just like with all your other problems so far!?"_

…No, she was stronger than this. She was a survivor; she could survive whatever answer she received. She always did. She let out a resigned breath and steeled herself for the truth, whatever it may be.

"Can… Can he really do it? Can he really stop Salem?" She whispered quietly, gaze fixed on the Silver Eyed boy.

…

…

"Hmm, he has a better chance than anyone else so far."

…

The words quickly registered in her mind and shock overtook her. She whirled around to voice her disbelief to the hovering spirit, but the world around her came back to life and the spirit returned inside the lamp in the blink of an eye. She was left there stunned with her jaw loose and mind a whirlwind of incoherent thoughts.

…He was right? She could be stopped?

"Well?" Caryll asked expectantly. Raven let out a shaky breath and clenched her fists. She desperately tried to focus her mind on the here and now, doing her best to shove aside the other devastating implications that statement had about her and her entire life.

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove it to me that you're different from those two. Prove it to me that you want to fight for our sakes and not just for your own self-interest." If she were to join again, she would only do it if there was someone worth fighting for in that war. No games, no deception, just truth and honesty.

"How can I do that?" A valid question all things considered, fortunately she had just the idea. Raven turned to look at the younger Hunter and her eyes bore into his.

"Kill yourself and in exchange I will rejoin the fight and free Summer."

…

"W-what? How does that make any sense?!" It was Lily who voiced their concerns about her proposition. Caryll seemed similarly caught off-guard by the request, but quickly reigned his surprise in.

"You've told me that you don't know how you reincarnated, which means it might not happen again. For all intents and purposes, you are just as mortal as we are. If you're really fighting for us, then giving your life for our sakes shouldn't be that hard, should it?" Raven explained with crossed arms. Capability to win this war or not, she still had no make sure he had no ulterior motives and that he really fought for them. She also didn't miss the spirit's ramblings; his rebirth was not intended by anyone.

"M-ma'am you're acting ridiculous, Caryll, please reason with her-"

"If I do this, will you rescue Mom?" For a moment, his eyes seemingly shined with understanding as their eyes remained locked with each other. She nodded slowly in confirmation.

"Don't tell me you're actually considering it?!" Lily exclaimed in disbelief. Caryll turned to briefly address the distressed girl.

"She isn't wrong. My plan doesn't need me to be carried out, only my Semblance. There is still a large amount of my Aura left in Zwei, you can use him to trap Salem. I know you can do it if you work together, and if this is what it takes..."

"Fine, I'll do it on one condition," Caryll sighed and took out one of his throwing knives. "If… you somehow can't save her. Take care of Yang and Ruby, please," he requested softly as he reversed his grip on the knife and lifted the blade before his chest, right over his heart.

"I can't believe this, both of you are insane!"

"You have my word," she nodded in agreement. If it really did come down to that, it was the least she could do to make up for her… absence.

Caryll held her gaze for a bit before nodding to himself. He then closed his eyes and with a swift motion, plunged the knife towards his heart. Lily cried out and tried her best to intercept the speeding blade, but he was much faster than her, even when injured.

And so, the blade sailed forwards unabated and pierced fabric, skin and flesh.

…

"You're hopeless," Raven berated sufferingly, her hand gripping his and stopping the knife from digging further. Blood was drawn, but the knife hadn't sunk in beyond a mere few centimeters. "Never lie to me again," she sighed tiredly and let go of his hand, allowing Caryll to lower the knife. Lily wasted no time and slapped the knife out of his hand before embracing him tightly.

"You idiot! Never scare me like that again!" Even Raven could see that it was an awkward hug, especially because the kid just realized that he was about to commit suicide right before one of his friends.

It was times like these she wondered if he even thought things through, or if he gave things too much thought and forgot little details like that as a result.

"Sorry," he winced uncomfortably. "It won't happen again, promise." He briefly returned the hug and they separated with Lily watching him like an angry hawk and a lowly muttered "It better not," and a grumbled string of curses she undoubtably picked up from the tribe. He flinched shamefully under her gaze before returning his attention to Raven.

"So does this mean…?" Hope blossomed on Caryll's face as tears pooled in his eyes. Raven rolled her own in response.

"Let's go protect what's ours-"

"Thank you!" She was assaulted by her short, obnoxious godson. His arms wrapped around her mercilessly and he buried his teary face into her torso. Raven stood there awkwardly for a few moments before allowing her posture to ease up and place a hand on his head in what accounted to her best attempt at being affectious. She let this go on for a bit until she realized he had no intention of separating any time soon.

"Alright brat, you can let go-" "Shut up, you're ruining the moment." Her attempt was squashed before she could even finish. Unsurprisingly he still held no respect for her, that was an annoying constant in their relationship.

At least she could be sure that was Summer's bad influence showing, not hers.

* * *

_Wording people, it saves lives!_

_Raven's and Summer's team attack is named after the chess piece and is based on the knight's unorthodox movement patterns._

_Ahh, I love it when little plot seeds I planted so long ago start to grow before everyone's eyes. I wonder how many of you could already guess what was behind the wall of flames before the reveal. Please, a round of applause for our Silver Eyed boi for kicking off the apocalypse a decade before it was supposed to happen. _

_So, is this fic bashing Ozpin? No. Do I intend to? Not really, I'll just say that there is still one more account we hadn't heard the tale from._

_So, I've finished Fate/stay night and I must admit… Shirou has somewhat redeemed himself in my eyes in the final episodes (which were great, easily the best in the whole series). He still isn't my favorite by far, but by making the right choices in the end he had pushed himself up considerably. As for the anime itself; it was good, it has aged visibly and that took away from the enjoyment somewhat, but the world and plot was still good enough to make it worth the time._

_But I couldn't help myself during watching it but wonder about the fourth war, it was mentioned a ton of times and I got curious, curious enough to hop straight into Fate Zero just yesterday._

…_I was not ready. I expected something like the previous series, but in all honesty my expectations were blown out of the water. Maybe it's because I always preferred overarching drama to romance, but I enjoy FZ much more than I did FSN. It's my personal opinion, but FZ did a much better job at presenting everyone's side/motivation and conveyed the severity of a war fought for an omnipotent wish granting device that's supposed to even be able to destroy the world._

_So all in all, IGN 10/10; would see a flexing contest with Gilgamesh again._

_Also regarding omakes; I won't bother to make promises I can't fulfill anymore. Honestly if my free time would allow me to, I would make them, but I simply don't have the time while making the main story at the same time. Maybe when we'll finish Act 2 I'll take some time to write a bunch of them, but not in the near future I'm afraid._

_Reviews:_

_NobuNepu: I looked up a guide since I like to watch series in chronological orders and started with Fate/stay night 2004. There will be another 3-4 chapters spent in Vacuo before we move on elsewhere, so there will be a lot of exposition and plot going on, though mainly in a specific region._

_ChangeMe4574: Summer's situation will be "resolved" in the next arc, so you needn't wait for that long*._

_*terms and conditions may apply._

_Hmason: Her name is the gender-bent version of Conan the barbarian. Though obviously I twisted the trope a lot to make her character. _

_sevae: I'm curious, are you new to this fandom? Because I've never heard of that comparison before. Maiden fights in the show are somewhat like the one I depicted in the last chapter, so I don't really see where this comparison comes from._

_RTNK: You might want to check out the one-shot one my profile, it's about a potential future for TSEP and Caryll does use a specific ability that was heavily inspired by Naruto._

_LostBastille: I know Kishimoto liked to play loose with the rules of Kamui, but in this fic Caryll can only transport someone if they are in direct contact with each other. In the engagements Caryll participates in, every split second is crucial. The maneuver you're talking about is very risky, he would have to first weave around whatever Konan is attacking him with and then touch her. Sure, it can be done, but if Caryll messes up his timing even by an instant he would be blown away and nearly KO-ed instantly. It's just a risky move with a too narrow margin of error and catastrophic repercussions._

_fuyuki365: Kaguya. No contest. The two universes just have a hugely different power-scale. Canon Salem simply has no feats comparable to Kaguya aside from being equally as immortal. TSEP Salem still holds no candle, but you could imagine her boss battle like a culmination of all other previous fights, only taken to the next level; The Iratus Queen's mental abilities? The Queen still listens to Salem at the end of the day. Konan's power and versatility? Salem stalemated an Ozma with four times the power of Konan with many more years of experience etc. etc._

_undefinedforever: Usually, I'm one of those people from the Batman-is-the-biggest-idiot-ever camp, so I get where you're coming from, but you have to look at it from another angle. What is the difference between Raven and Konan? It's very important because Caryll gave Raven a second chance, if there is no significant difference between the two and he still refuses to give Konan a second chance then he runs the risk of being a hypocrite and thus severely weakens his own moral standing. So, what is the difference? Kill count? Raven has also undoubtably racked up quite a lot, either directly or indirectly. Allegiance? Konan openly admitted that she only works for Salem because it benefits her to do so, not out of any form of 'true' loyalty. Raven would also do something similar in the future with Cinder, meaning that she has the capacity to act in a similar manner. Mental health? Perhaps this is the crux of the matter. Konan is a psychopath with masochistic tendencies yes, but she is a functional one with at least a minimal understanding of societal norms; shown when she offers Caryll a chance to leave without conflict and when she readily gives up information because she gave her word. Does that make her "redeemable" or at least susceptible to be swayed from Salem's circle? Perhaps, individuals like her are liable to change quickly into varying directions._

_Personally, I would say that it's in a very grey area and that ultimately I think this is up to the individual to decide as even I admit that is a very subjective matter with the amount of characterization I've presented for her._

_notvisiulebliss: Apart from Salem herself, yes. She was the strongest individual on Remnant._

_Until next time._


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